The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details
Marsett Sandstone Formation
| Computer Code: | MASA | Preferred Map Code: | MS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status Code: | Full | ||
| Age range: | Tournaisian Age (CT) — Holkerian Substage (CQ) | ||
| Lithological Description: | The Marsett Formation comprises laterally variable beds of conglomerate, lithic sandstone and mudstone. The sandstone beds are generally cross-bedded and may be in shades of brown, red, grey, green or buff. Over much of the Stainmore Trough, the Marsett Formation comprises red sandstone, green shale and conglomerate. On the Askrigg Block the formation consists of reddish brown and greenish grey sandstone and conglomerate with rare dolostone beds. In north Cumbria, basaltic lavas of the Cockermouth Volcanic Formation occur within the alluvial fan facies of the formation. In most instances the beds are fluvial in origin, though reworking in shallow marginal marine conditions may have occurred locally. | ||
| Definition of Lower Boundary: | The Marsett Formation rests unconformably upon the limestones, mudstones and sandstones of the Pinskey Gill Formation in the Stainmore Trough and on the siltstones and sandstones with thin-bedded and nodular dolostones of the Raydale Dolostone Formation on the Askrigg Block. In the Furness area the formation is underlain unconformably by unspecified Lower Palaeozoic strata. | ||
| Definition of Upper Boundary: | The formation is contiguous with the overlying marine Tournaisian/Visean succession. This comprises in the Stainmore Trough and on the Askrigg Block the limestones, sandstones and mudstones of the Stone Gill Limestone and Penny Farm Gill formations respectively. North of the River Lowther in Westmorland the formation is overlain by the dolostones of the Shap Village Limestone Formation (the base of which is marked by beds with algal mats and nodules). Near Orton, east of Shap, in a gully section next to the M6 Motorway [NY 600 075] black marine mudstone beds of the Marsett Formation lie beneath calcareous limestone and siltstone beds of the Stone Gill Limestone Formation (see Pattison, 1990, p. 9; Day, 1992, p. 15; McCormac, 2001, p. 12). On the Alston Block and in north and west Cumbria the conglomerates of the Marsett Formation are, respectively, unconformably and disconformably overlain by the carbonates of the Melmerby Scar Limestone and Frizington Limestone formations, Great Scar Limestone Group, though at the northern margin of the Lake District the top of the Marsett Formation conformably underlies the basalt lavas of the Cockermouth Volcanic Formation. In the Furness area the formation passes conformably up to grey, red and green marine mudstone and limestone of the Martin Limestone Formation. | ||
| Thickness: | In most areas the formation is thin. In the Appleby district it is 2-20 m thick. In north and east Cumbria it is typically less than 35 m thick. On the Askrigg Block it is 60 m thick. However, on the northern margin of the Stainmore Trough, at Roman Fell [NY 760 200], beds up to 200 m thick are present. The formation is up to 240 m thick in the Furness area. | ||
| Geographical Limits: | Present in north, east and west and south Cumbria and throughout north Yorkshire, including the Stainmore Trough and Askrigg Block. In the Kendal area it is suggested that what is presently assigned to the lower part of a local equivalent of the Martin Limestone Formation, Great Scar Limestone Group of open marine, platform and ramp carbonates facies, is more typical of the Ravenstonedale Group. | ||
| Parent Unit: | Ravenstonedale Group (RVS) | ||
| Previous Name(s): | Roman Fell Sandstones [Obsolete Name and Code: Use MASA]
(RFSS)
Basement Beds (North West) [Obsolete Name and Code: Use MASA] (BBNW) Roman Fell Shales [Obsolete Name and Code: Use MASA] (RFSH) Roman Fell Beds [Obsolete Name and Code: Use MASA] (RMF) Basement Beds (Group) [Obsolete Name and Code: Use MASA] (BABS) Basement Beds (Northern Pennines) [Obsolete Name and Code: Use MASA] (BBNP) |
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| Alternative Name(s): | none recorded or not applicable | ||
| Stratotypes: | |||
| Type Section | The type section is from about 406 to 463 m depth in the BGS Raydale Borehole (BGS Registration Number SD98SW/1) [SD 9026 8474] on the Askrigg Block. | ||
| Reference Section | Localities in the Appleby district include Shap Abbey [NY 5482 1533] where about 9 m of shaly sandstone and conglomerate occur in a cliff on the River Lowther (see Garwood, 1913). | ||
| Reference Section | Localities in the Appleby district include Holghyll [NY 4290 2730] where a thick succession is accessible in the ravine (see McCormac, 2001, p. 12). | ||
| Reference(s): | |||
| Dean, M T, Browne, M A E, Waters, C N and Powell, J H. 2011. A lithostratigraphical framework for the Carboniferous successions of northern Great Britain (onshore). British Geological Survey Research Report, RR/10/007. 165pp. | |||
| Dunham, K C, and Wilson, A A. 1985. Geology of the Northern Pennine Orefield. Volume 2 Stainmore to Craven. Economic Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheets 40, 41 and 50, and parts of Sheets 31, 32, 51, 60 and 61(England and Wales). | |||
| Garwood, E J. 1913. The Lower Carboniferous succession in the north-west of England. Journal of the Geological Society, London, Vol.68 (for 1912), 449-586. | |||
| Holliday, D W, Neves, R, and Owens, B. 1979. Stratigraphy and palynology of early Dinantian (Carboniferous) strata in shallow boreholes near Ravenstonedale, Cumbria. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, Vol. 42, 343-356. | |||
| McCormac, M, 2001. The Upper Palaeozoic rocks of the Shap and Penrith district, Edenside, Cumbria. British Geological Survey Research Report, RR/01/10. | |||
| Mitchell, M, Taylor, B J and Ramsbottom, W H C, 1978. Carboniferous, 168-188 in The geology of the Lake District. Moseley, F (editor). Yorkshire Geological Society Special Publication. No.3. | |||
| Pattison, J. 1990. Geology of the Orton and Sunbiggin Tarn districts. Geological notes and local details for 1:10,000 Sheets NY60NW and NY60NE and part of 1:50,000 Sheets 30 (Appleby), 31 (Brough), 39 (Kendal) and 40 (Kirkby Stephen). British Geological Survey Onshore Geology Series, Technical Report, WA/90/12. | |||
| Rose, W C C, and Dunham, K C. 1977. Geology and hematite deposits of South Cumbria. Economic Memoir of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Sheet 58, part 48 (England and Wales). | |||
| Day, A. 1992. Lower Carboniferous rocks near Orton, east of Shap. 12-18 in Lakeland rocks and landscape a field guide. Dodd, M (editor). (Maryport: Ellenbank Press.) | |||
| 1:50K maps on which the lithostratigraphical unit is found, and map code used: | |||
| none recorded or not applicable | |||