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Earth Science Conservation Review
| Carboniferous Subarea-10; North County Down | Down |
| Site number: | 1183 | ||
| Locality Type: | Various | ||
| Grid Reference: | J4967,J408805 Approximate, Not Entered | ||
| Google maps: | 54.52988,-5.69835 | ||
| County: | Down | Council area: | Ards & North Down Borough Council |
| Period: | Carboniferous | ||
| Stages: | Brigantian, Tournasian, Visean | ||
| Lithostrat: | Castle Espie Limestone Formation, Holywood Group | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
| Description: | |
INTRODUCTION Two isolated outcrops of Carboniferous beds occur in north County Down, at Cultra, on the SE side of Belfast Lough, and at Castle Espie near the north end of Strangford Lough. The Holywood Group at Cultra comprises two formations of Tournaisian age and the Castle Espie Group is Brigantian. Despite their age differences both groups rest unconformably on Lower Palaeozoic rocks of the Down-Longford massif and clearly represent the deposits of very different sedimentary environments that evolved during quite separate marine transgressions. For site specific information see; Key Site 290 - Castle Espie Key Site 291 - Cultra-Craigavad. | |
| Notes: | |
------------------------------------------------------------------ For more information on the Carboniferous System in N. Ireland see; Key Site 1171 - The Carboniferous System in N. Ireland - Introduction. Key Site 1172 - Carboniferous Biostratigraphy - Overview. Key Site 1173 - Carboniferous Palaeogeography of N. Ireland. | |
| Keywords | |
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| Relations: | Marine sediments |
| Record type: | ESCR report | ||
| Entered by: | E M Porter | ||
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2026. Carboniferous Subarea-10; North County Down, County Down, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=1183. Accessed on 2026-11-05. |
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