Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
 STATUS:
Local Geological Site
OTHER DESIGNATIONS: SEGI, designated as the Horton Bank Country Park
opened
July 15th 1997
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Bradford
OS GRID REF. SE 126 308
OS SHEET 1:50,000 Landranger 104 Leeds and Bradford
OS SHEET: 1:25,000 Explorer 288 – Bradford and Huddersfield
BGS Geological 1:50,000 Sheet 77 Huddersfield (Solid and Drift edition)
FIRST DESIGNATED by West Yorkshire LGS Group in 1996
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY December 2007 by West Yorkshire Geology
Trust
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION produced by Neil Aitkenhead
DESIGNATION SHEET UPDATED August 2009
SITE DESCRIPTION:
Horton Bank was a reservoir built within a stone quarry, which has
been remodelled as a
country park. The rock exposures on the south side of the site give
good views of two
Upper Carboniferous sandstones (the Greenmoor Rock and the Grenoside
Sandstone) and
the silts and shale in between. The sandstones contain structures such
as ripple marks
and cross bedding, which are easily observed from the many footpaths
which cross the
site. The shale and silts contain iron nodules in places.
 HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATIONS:
Horton Bank was a stone quarry, which was then developed as a reservoir
with an earth
dam.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
Horton Bank Reservoir has been landscaped and developed into an amenity
site for the
general public and provides an exceptionally good site for geological
education at all
levels.
AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS:
The site has been landscaped as a conservation area and contains
shallow lakes with
woodland and natural vegetation. The woodland will start to obscure
some of the faces in
the future.
ACCESS AND SAFETY:
There is a large parking area at the site. The provision of footpaths
enables the site to be
visited by students of all levels. The low faces are accessible
and there is plenty of space
for large groups to gather. All the footpaths close to the
rock exposures are accessible by
wheelchairs, although there are some slopes and rough paths.
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