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RE: Star Delph Quarry, Great Harewood & 'Giants Footprints, Deerstones Quarry, Pendle.
Fossil tree roots in Star Delph (Harper Clough Quarry)
The rocks here were formed during the Carboniferous Period some 310 million years ago. At that time, this part of the Earth stood in tropical latitudes. The area formed part of a large river delta system similar to the modern day Mississippi Delta. Powerful rivers carried large volumes of sand and mud, derived from the erosion of a large mountain range to the north (Iceland & Scandinavia are all that is left of a mountain range that once stood higher than the Himalayas), and deposited their sediment loads in the delta system.
At times, the areas between the river channels on the delta formed swamps, covered in tropical forests. At other times, the sea rose over the delta, flooding the forests. Sand was deposited in the river channels and later solidified to form sandstone. Mud was deposited in the river flood planes or in the sea and formed shale. Thin coals were formed from the dead remains of plants growing in the swamps.
Millions of years after the rocks were formed, massive Earth movements caused them to fold and tilt steeply. The rock face in front of us was originally horizontal but is now steeply tilted. The shallow depressions that form the ‘star’ pattern on the face was formed by the radial roots (called Stigmaria) of a large plant Lepidonendron, a lycophyte – tree like carboniferous ancestor of today’s club mosses.
The ‘Giants Footprints’ at Deerstones Quarry above Sabden were more than likely formed in the same way as the ‘Star’.
Fossil tree roots in Star Delph (Harper Clough Quarry)
The rocks here were formed during the Carboniferous Period some 310 million years ago. At that time, this part of the Earth stood in tropical latitudes. The area formed part of a large river delta system similar to the modern day Mississippi Delta. Powerful rivers carried large volumes of sand and mud, derived from the erosion of a large mountain range to the north (Iceland & Scandinavia are all that is left of a mountain range that once stood higher than the Himalayas), and deposited their sediment loads in the delta system.
At times, the areas between the river channels on the delta formed swamps, covered in tropical forests. At other times, the sea rose over the delta, flooding the forests. Sand was deposited in the river channels and later solidified to form sandstone. Mud was deposited in the river flood planes or in the sea and formed shale. Thin coals were formed from the dead remains of plants growing in the swamps.
Millions of years after the rocks were formed, massive Earth movements caused them to fold and tilt steeply. The rock face in front of us was originally horizontal but is now steeply tilted. The shallow depressions that form the ‘star’ pattern on the face was formed by the radial roots (called Stigmaria) of a large plant Lepidonendron, a lycophyte – tree like carboniferous ancestor of today’s club mosses.
The ‘Giants Footprints’ at Deerstones Quarry above Sabden were more than likely formed in the same way as the ‘Star’.
