Old Town Railway Cutting, Swindon
Encyclopedia
Old Town Railway Cutting is a 1.78 hectare
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Swindon
, Wiltshire
, notified in 1975. It is near the site of the former Swindon Town railway station
.
The site is notable for an unusual exposure of the Kimmeridge Clay
formation.
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, notified in 1975. It is near the site of the former Swindon Town railway station
Swindon Town railway station
Swindon Town railway station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway at Swindon in Wiltshire. The station was sited in the Old Town area about one-and-a-half miles from the Great Western Railway's Swindon Junction.- History :...
.
The site is notable for an unusual exposure of the Kimmeridge Clay
Kimmeridge Clay
The Kimmeridge Clay Formation is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Jurassic age. It occurs in Europe.Kimmeridge Clay is arguably the most economically important unit of rocks in the whole of Europe, being the major source rock for oil fields in the North Sea hydrocarbon...
formation.
Sources
- English Nature citation sheet for the site (accessed 23 July 2006)
External links
- English Nature website (SSSI information)