The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details
Bellochantuy Bay Formation
Computer Code: | BELB | Preferred Map Code: | BELB |
---|---|---|---|
Status Code: | Full | ||
Age range: | Permian Period (P) — Permian Period (P) | ||
Lithological Description: | Bright red friable sandstone, with thin layers composed of well-rounded and polished grains of quartz, interbedded with beds of breccia. Clasts within the breccia are of vein quartz, quartzite and mica-schist. The sandstone may contain facetted pebbles [of dreikanter type]. Cross-bedding [false-bedding] is a conspicuous feature of the sandstone, which is interpreted as an aeolian sand-dune deposit. Greyish-white sandstone with a calcareous cement is noted at Muasdale [NR675 395]. | ||
Definition of Lower Boundary: | Unconformably overlies Dalradian metasedimentary rocks. | ||
Definition of Upper Boundary: | Overlying rocks no longer preserved. | ||
Thickness: | The proven minimum thickness of the formation exposed in the roadside cliff at Bellochantuy is 6m [18ft] [Pringle, 1952]. However, this is considered only to be the edge of strata that extend under the sea and are continuous with other exposures of the Formation along the Kintyre coast [Pringle, 1952]. | ||
Geographical Limits: | Coastal exposures on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula, Argyll, Scotland. | ||
Parent Unit: | Stewartry Group (STEW) | ||
Previous Name(s): | Upper Old Red Sandstone
(UORS)
Upper Old Red Sandstone (UORS) |
||
Alternative Name(s): | none recorded or not applicable | ||
Stratotypes: | |||
Type Section | Coastal exposures, west coast of Kintyre Peninsula between Killean and Bellochantuy, Argyllshire, Scotland. | ||
Reference(s): | |||
Pringle, J, 1952. On the occurrence of Permian rocks in Islay and north Kintyre. Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society, Vol.14, 297-301. | |||
British Geological Survey. 1996. Sound of Gigha. Scotland Sheet 20 and part of 21W. Solid and Drift Geology. 1:50 000 Provisional Series. (Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey.) | |||
McCallien, W J. 1927. Preliminary account of the post-Dalradian geology of Kintyre. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow, Vol.18, 40-126. | |||
1:50K maps on which the lithostratigraphical unit is found, and map code used: | |||
S020 |