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Earth Science Conservation Review
| Greencastle Bay middle beach, Carlingford Lough - Carboniferous | Down |
| Site number: | 296 | File Number: | J21 |
| ESCC: | EF | ||
| Locality Type: | Coastal section | Status: | ASSI |
| Grid Reference: | J253114 Centroid | ||
| Google maps: | 54.03708,-6.08747 | ||
| County: | Down | Council area: | Newry, Mourne & Down District Council |
| Period: | Carboniferous | ||
| Stages: | Arundian, Visean | ||
| Lithostrat: | Carlingford Limestone Group | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Description: | |
Two small isolated exposures occur just below the shingle bank in the mid-section of the beach between Soldiers Point and Greencastle Point, south Co.Down. They are composed of interbedded fawn to blue- grey calcareous, medium to coarse-grained sandstones, sandy limestones and sandy oolites which have erosional bases and contain a scattering of coarse to very coarse quartz grains and small pebbles. Cross-bedding, ripple and parallel laminations are common. Fine pebble and gritty beds up to 12cm thick are lenticular and contain small fragments of crinoid ossicles and brachiopod shells. Pebbles normally range in size from 2-3cms and occasionally up to 8-10cm but this is unusual. Their composition is variable, consisting of Lower Palaeozoic greywacke, undeformed granodiorite and granophyre, aplite, vein quartz and reworked contemporaneous limestone. Small fragments of carbonised plant debris occur in these beds. | |
| Notes: | |
For information on other sites in Subarea-11 see Key Site 1184 - Subarea-11; Cranfield-Greencastle. | |
| Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Rocks: | Limestone, Oolitic limestone, Sand, Sandstone |
| Fossil Groups: | Brachiopod, Crinoid, Plant |
| Structures: | cross-bedding, ripple marks |
| Relations: | Marine sediments |
| Access | |
|---|---|
| Approach: | Mid-section of the beach between Soldiers Point and Greencastle Point, south Co.Down. |
| Record type: | ESCR report | ||
| Entered by: | Doughty, P.J. | ||
| Last updated: | 6 Jun 2005 | ||
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2026. Greencastle Bay middle beach, Carlingford Lough - Carboniferous, County Down, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=296. Accessed on 2026-11-06. |
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