Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
 STATUS:
Local Geological Site
OTHER DESIGNATIONS:
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Bradford
OS GRID REF. SE 025 369
OS SHEET 1:50,000 Landranger 104 Leeds and Bradford
OS SHEET: 1:25,000 OL 21 South Pennines
BGS Geological 1:50,000 Sheet 69 Bradford (Solid and Drift Edition)
FIRST DESIGNATED by West Yorkshire LGS Group in 1996
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY Visited February 2009 by West Yorkshire
Geology Trust
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION produced by Neil Aitkenhead
DESIGNATION SHEET UPDATED August 2009
SITE DESCRIPTION:
A gently dipping section of Upper Carboniferous High Moor Sandstone with
siltstones
and mudstones is exposed in a 5m high disused quarry face. The sandstones
contain
well-preserved Stigmaria and other plant fossils. The mudstones include
a thin coal seam
(the Morton Banks Coal) and a grey fireclay beneath it, which are usually
covered by
mudstone scree. They lie on top of a thick sandstone bed (probably the
Doubler Stones
Sandstone) which was the main sandstone exploited in the quarry. A 3m
high sandstone
face on the north side of the quarry has evidence of minor faulting.
Some quarried
stones have been left at the top of the quarry on the north side and
these have some
interesting features, including many plant fossils.
The quarry has been largely infilled, but there is a marshy pool which
is of ecological
importance.
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS:
The Bradford and Skipton Memoir (1953) p150 mentions that the top grit
of the group in
Dimples quarry was quarried for ashlar building stones and for pitching
(roadstone).
 EDUCATIONAL
VALUE:
This is an excellent educational site, as it contains a range of
sedimentary rocks including
a thin coal. It is suitable for demonstrating dip measurements, sedimentary
structures and
differential
weathering. Plant fossils can be found at this site and in surrounding
tips of
quarried stone. The nearby quarry at West End (SE 020 364) can be
visited to observe
trough cross bedded sandstones. On the north side of the site there
is a slickensided
sandstone face, which indicates minor faulting.
AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS:
The site is located within Penistone Hill Country Park, within walking
distance of
Stanbury and Haworth. There are panoramic views across moorland
towards the north
and west.
ACCESS AND SAFETY:
The site has very good access, with a car park in the quarry off
Dimples Lane. The main
face is easy to see from a wheelchair, but it is not possible
to get close to any of the rocks,
because of the scree slopes and trees below the faces.
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