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Earth Science Conservation Review
| Murrins Complex - Coolesker/Beragh Eskers | Tyrone |
| Site number: | 512 | ||
| ESCC: | IS | ||
| Locality Type: | Inland exposure | Status: | TBC |
| Grid Reference: | H512650,H508669,H531751 Approximate, Not Entered | ||
| Google maps: | 54.53123,-7.20912 | ||
| County: | Tyrone | Council area: | Fermanagh & Omagh District Council |
| Period: | Quaternary | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
| Description: | |
This area, extending from south of Beragh to Lough Macrory (c. 12km), is characterised by elongate and sinuous esker ridges, associated with broad sand and gravel spreads, which overlie northwest-southeast oriented diamict ridges. Esker ridges are up to 1km long, 5-10m high and 10-40m wide. Individual ridge fragments are separated by areas (100-500m wide) of non-deposition and/or erosion. Esker crest profiles are flat or slightly undulatory, and ridges are generally bifurcated. There are no significant exposures. These ridges generally form a rectilinear or lattice pattern: ridges around Gortnaclare (H512650), Annagh (H508669), Seefin (H531751) and Cloghfin are aligned southwest-northeast, whereas those near Beragh and Coolesker are aligned north-south. There are also major differences in landscape morphology. Eskers trending southwest-northeast feed into ridges, interpreted as moraines, which are aligned north-south. Beragh Hill (H536662) is a flat-topped sand and gravel landform which reaches 140m a.s.l. It is directly associated with feeder eskers from the southwest. No sediments are exposed, but the hill may represent a proglacial delta related to (a) glacial lake development between an eastern ice margin and the Fintona Hills directly to the south, and (b) account for the wider development of north-south oriented ridges (ice-marginal moraines) and association with feeder eskers at Gortnaclare. A similar scenario can be applied to the development of flat sand and gravel surfaces at Mullaghslin (H564732) and Drumnakilly (H538732) (Dardis, 1986) which may have been fed by the Seefin and Cloghfin eskers respectively. This interpretation may also account for the rectilinear ridge pattern and relate to evidence elsewhere, such as around Murrinmaguiggan, for regional western and southwestern ice retreat. These glacial lakes may have been impounded while Lough Neagh Basin ice still occupied the Pomeroy-Sixmilecross valley, i.e. that ice margins were probably more active on the flanks of the Fintona Hills than that envisaged by Dardis (1982, 1986) (see Key Sites 482 - Pomeroy, and 483 - Ballygawley). Enclosed peatland and disordered sand and gravel hummocks in the areas between feeder esker ridges may reflect ice stagnation. Stagnation zone topography is also found in the lowland area north of Sixmilecross (see Key Site 483 - Ballygawley). | |
| Notes: | |
For site specific information on other sites within the Murrins Complex see the following sites: Key Site 508 - Murrins Complex - Glensawisk Burn Delta Key Site 509 - Murrins Complex - Cashel Outwash Key Site 510 - Murrins Complex - Lough Fingrean Frontal Moraines Key Site 511 - Murrins Complex - Laght Hill Retreat Moraines For overview information and references on the Murrins Complex see the following site: Key Site 479 - Murrins Complex - Overview For general information and references on the sand and gravel landscapes of N. Ireland, and for directions to other regional sand and gravel sites, see the following site: Key Site 439 - Introduction to the Sand and Gravel Landscapes of N. Ireland This site is also a Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance. See Key Site 714 - Coolesker. | |
| Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Rocks: | Diamict, Gravel, Sand |
| Relations: | Ice stagnation |
| Geomorph: | esker |
| Record type: | ESCR report | ||
| Entered by: | E M Porter | ||
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2026. Murrins Complex - Coolesker/Beragh Eskers, County Tyrone, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=512. Accessed on 2026-11-06. |
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