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Earth Science Conservation Review
| Camlough Quarry - Structural | Down |
| Site number: | 660 | ||
| Locality Type: | Quarry (disused) | Status: | ASSI |
| Grid Reference: | J03692459 Centroid | ||
| Google maps: | 54.15954,-6.41405 | ||
| County: | Down | Council area: | Newry, Mourne & Down District Council |
| Period: | Tertiary, Devonian, Silurian | ||
| Stages: | Devonian Undifferentiated, Palaeogene, Silurian Undifferentiated | ||
| Lithostrat: | Newry Granodiorite, Slieve Gullion Complex | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
| Introduction: | |
Camlough Quarry is located on the eastern side of Cam Lough, approximately 2.5km south of Camlough. Access to the site is via the minor Keggall Road that joins the Newry Road (A25) at Camlough (Fig. 36). The site contains structural features related to the emplacement of the Newry Granodiorite Complex (late-Caledonian) and the Slieve Gullion Igneous Complex (Palaeogene). | |
| Description: | |
Camlough Quarry is located in the most southwestern of the three plutons, which constitute the late-Caledonian Newry Granodiorite Complex (Meighan et al., 1979). The quarry contains exposures of the complex contact relationships between early microgranitic and sheeted granodiorites of the Newry Complex, and the contact relationship between the Newry Complex and the metamorphosed Silurian country rocks. The greywacke and shale (Silurian) country rocks at the site have been melted and fused by the intrusion of the Newry Granodiorite and now form hornfels (Reynolds, 1934, 1936, 1943, 1944). The granophyre close to the outer margin of the intrusion has a strong vertical fabric aligned parallel to the outer contact. This has been attributed to regional deformation and to the 'shouldering aside' of the country rocks during emplacement of the Newry Granodiorite (Murphy, 1987). The main structural interest at this site is in the exposure of the contacts between the porphyritic granophyre of the Slieve Gullion Ring Dyke (Palaeogene) and the older rocks. This contact is cross-cutting and in parts fault controlled, thereby providing evidence in support of the theory that the Slieve Gullion Ring Dyke was emplaced in a ring fracture generated during Palaeogene deformation. | |
| Notes: | |
For general information on the Structural Geology of Northern Ireland, directions to other Structural Geology sites and an extensive reference list see Key Site 641 - Introduction to the Structural Geology of N. Ireland. See also Key Site 577 - Cam Lough Quarry [Caledonian Igneous block] and Key Site 1119 - Slieve Gullion Ring - Cam Lough Quarry [Tertiary Igneous block]. | |
| Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Rocks: | Granodiorite, Granophyre, Greywacke, Hornfels, Shale |
| Structures: | fault, contact |
| Access | |
|---|---|
| Approach: | Access to the site is via the minor Keggall Road that joins the Newry Road (A25) at Camlough (Fig. 36). |
| Record type: | ESCR report | Recorded by: | T.P. Johnston |
| Entered by: | E M Porter | ||
| Last updated: | 23/09/03 | ||
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2026. Camlough Quarry - Structural, County Down, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=660. Accessed on 2026-11-05. |
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