Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
 STATUS:
Local Geological Site
OTHER DESIGNATIONS: Nature Reserve
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Bradford
OS GRID REF: SE 131 467
OS SHEET 1:50,000 Landranger 104 Leeds and Bradford
OS SHEET: 1:25 000 Explorer 297 Lower Wharfedale & Washburn Valley
BGS 1:50 000 Sheet 69, Bradford (Solid & Drift Edition)
FIRST DESIGNATED by West Yorkshire LGS Group in 1996
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY Visited January 2009 by West Yorkshire Geology
Trust
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION produced by Neil Aitkenhead
DESIGNATION SHEET UPDATED August 2009
 SITE
DESCRIPTION:
Prominent natural cliff and quarry face exposures in two quarries illustrate
a variety of
sedimentary structures of the Addingham Edge Grit, including large
scale cross bedding
and well preserved ripple marks. The latter are seen at one point on
the left of the
entrance to Cow and Calf quarry where they lie below the main face
and are associated
with trace fossils indicating an upwards change from peri-marine to
fluvial environments
of deposition. Hangingstones Quarry, to the west of the Cow and Calf,
has glacial
striations on a bedding plane above the western end of the quarry at
SE 1270 4673. The
Calf is the large block which has moved down the slope from the main
slope, probably
under an ice cover. Its rocks can be matched with the section of the
face above (the
Cow), from which it has become detached, by looking at cross-bedding
and weathering
features.
 HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATIONS:
Many of the Victorian buildings of Ilkley were constructed with stone
quarried from this
site. The site contains the remains of a tramway constructed to transport
stone down to
the road for its removal.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
This is an excellent site for educational use at all levels. The
site demonstrates
sedimentation, weathering and faulting. In addition, the evidence
of glaciation will be of
interest. The Geology Trail leaflet produced by the Wharfedale
Naturalists' Society in
1994 introduces additional sites which can be visited in a 2-hour
walk. The glacial
moraine at Lanshaw Delves lies 2km to the south of the Cow and
Calf Rocks and is
easily reached by footpath.
AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS:
There are excellent views overlooking the glaciated Wharfe Valley
and Guiseley Gap
where a branch of the Wharfedale ice stream flowed south eastwards,
as indicated by a
small drumlin field, to join the Airedale ice stream.
ACCESS AND SAFETY:
Bus or train to Ben Rhydding (1km) or Ilkley (2km), or park in
the car park adjacent to
the Cow and Calf Rocks. There are no public toilets. All localities
are easily reached by
footpath. There are potential hazards at this site, especially
at the top of unfenced quarry
faces and from falling stones at the foot of such faces.
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