The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details
Northmoor Sand and Gravel Member
| Computer Code: | NO | Preferred Map Code: | notEntered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status Code: | Full | ||
| Age range: | Late Pleistocene (QPL) — Late Pleistocene (QPL) | ||
| Lithological Description: | Predominantly cold phase sands and gravels that underlie the Northmoor or First Terrace of BGS Maps. Dominated by clasts of Middle Jurassic limestone, but also containing a small proportion of "Bunter" quartz/quartzite and a varying proportion of flint, the latter increasing downstream below the confluence with the River Ock near Abingdon. Terrace surface up to 3 m above modern alluvial floodplain, with Northmoor deposits extending beneath the alluvium of the latter ('Buried Channel'). Locally includes organic deposits of at least two phases (MIS 5?a and Late Glacial MIS 2). Locally, upper (c. 2 to 3 m ) and lower (c. 1 m) 'facets' have been recognized (1b and 1a of BGS maps); these do not necessarily relate to the two phases of aggradation suggested by these organic beds. River terrace deposits. Late Pleistocene (MI Stage 5 to 2). | ||
| Definition of Lower Boundary: | Unconformable, commonly channelled base, resting on Jurassic bedrock, or very locally, on gravels of Summertown-Radley Member. | ||
| Definition of Upper Boundary: | Ground surface or floodplain alluvium. | ||
| Thickness: | 0 to c. 6 or 7 m, typically c. 3 m. | ||
| Geographical Limits: | Upper Thames Catchment, i.e. River Thames and most tributaries (excluding River Thame) upstream of the Goring Gap. Fairly well developed along the Upper Thames itself, the Ock, and (somewhat less well) along the lower Evenlode and the lower Cherwell. | ||
| Parent Unit: | Upper Thames Valley Formation (UTMS) | ||
| Previous Name(s): | Floodplain terrace deposits [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO]
(-3584)
Northmoor [Gravel] Formation [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO] (-3585) First Northmoor Terrace Deposits [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO] (-2957) Floodplain terrace deposits plus buried channel [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO] (-2958) First Terrace Deposits [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO, BRET] (-2013) Northmoor Member [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO] (-1089) First or 10 Foot Terrace [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO] (-423) First Terrace Deposits or Floodplain Gravels Plus Sunk Channel [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO] (-4812) Floodplain Terrace Deposits and Submerged Channel [Obsolete Name and Code: Use NO] (-4813) |
||
| Alternative Name(s): | none recorded or not applicable | ||
| Stratotypes: | |||
| Reference Section | Cassington Gravel Pit, 2.5 km east of Cassington. Maddy et al., 1998. | ||
| Type Section | Curtis's Pit Farmoor (no longer exposed; site of Farmoor Reservoir). Arkell, 1947a. | ||
| Type Area | Northmoor. Arkell, 1943 (table); 1947 a, b. | ||
| Reference(s): | |||
| Corser, C E. 1981. The sand and gravel resources around the country around Dorchester and Watlington, Oxfordshire. Description of 1:25000 resource sheets SU 69 and part of SU 59. Mineral Assessment Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, No.81. | |||
| Arkell, W J. 1947. The geology of Evenlode Gorge, Oxfordshire. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, Vol. 58, 87-113. | |||
| Bridgland, D R. 1994. Quaternary of the Thames. Geological Conservation Review Series No.7. (Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee.) | |||
| Corser, C E. 1981a. The sand and gravel resources of the country between Wallingford and Goring, Oxfordshire. Description of 1:25000 Sheet SU68 and part of SU58. Mineral Assessment Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, 64. | |||
| Lewis, D S G, Maddy, D and Scaife, R G. 2001. The fluvial system response to abrupt climate change during the last cold stage: the Upper Pleistocene River Thames fluvial succession at Ashton Keynes, UK. Global and Planetary Change, Vol.28, 341-359. | |||
| Arkell, W J. 1947. The Geology of Oxford. 267pp. (Oxford: Clarendon Press.) | |||
| Bowen, D Q. 1999. A revised correlation of Quaternary deposits in the British Isles. Geological Society Special Report, No. 23. | |||
| Arkell, W J. 1943. The Pleistocene Rocks at Trebetherick Point, North Cornwall; their interpretation and correlation. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, Vol. 54, 141-170. | |||
| Briggs, D J, Coope, G R, and Gilbertson, D D. 1985. The chronology and environmental framework of early Man in the Upper Thames Valley: a new model, British Archaeological Report, British Series, No. 137. | |||
| Corser, C E. 1978. The sand and gravel resources of the country around Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Description of 1:25 000 resource sheets SU 49, 59 and SP 40, 50. Mineral Assessment Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, No.38. | |||
| Harries, W J R. 1975. The sand and gravel resources of the country around Eynsham, Oxfordshire. Description of 1:25 000 Resource Sheet SP 40 and part of SP 41. Mineral Assessment Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, 28. | |||
| Maddy, D, Lewis, S G, Scaife, R G, Bowen, D Q, Coope, G R, Green, C P, Hardaker, T, Keen, D H, Rees-Jones, J, Parfitt, S and Scott, K. 1998. The Upper Pleistocene deposits at Cassington near Oxford, England. Journal of Quaternary Science, Vol.13, 205-231. | |||
| Pocock, T I. 1908. The geology of the country around Oxford, Second edition. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. | |||
| Richardson, L, Arkell, W J and Dines, H G. 1946. Geology of the country around Witney. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. Sheet 236 ( England and Wales). | |||
| Robson, P. 1975. The sand and gravel resources of the Thames Valley, the country around Cricklade, Wiltshire: Description of 1:25000 resource sheets SU09/19 and parts of SP00/10. Mineral Assessment Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, No.18. | |||
| Robson, P. 1976. The sand and gravel resources of the Thames Valley, the country between Lechdale and Standlake: Description of 1:25000 Sheet SP30 and parts of SP20, SU29 and SU30. Mineral Assessment Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, No.23. | |||
| Sandford, K S. 1924. The river gravels of the Oxford district. Quarterley Journal of the Gelogical Society of London, Vol.80, 113-179. | |||
| Sumbler, M G. 1995. The terraces of the rivers Thame and Thames and their bearing on the chronology of glaciation in central and eastern England. Proceeding of the Geologists' Association, Vol.106, 93-106. | |||
| Sumbler, M G, Barron, A J M and Morigi, A N, 2000. Geology of the Cirencester district. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 235 (England and Wales). | |||
| Stoker, M S, McMillan, A A and Waters, C N. Quaternary Stratigraphical Chart: Southern Britain. British Geological Survey, 1 poster. | |||
| Pringle, J. 1926. The geology of the country around Oxford, (2nd edition). Memoir of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. | |||
| 1:50K maps on which the lithostratigraphical unit is found, and map code used: | |||
| E218 E235 E236 E252 E253 E254 | |||