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Earth Science Conservation Review
| Moore Lodge Moraine - site of local interest | Down |
| Site number: | 742 | ||
| Locality Type: | Inland exposure, Pit | Status: | local interest |
| Grid Reference: | J302123,J289150 End(s) of linear site | ||
| Google maps: | 54.04395,-6.01234 | ||
| County: | Down | Council area: | Newry, Mourne & Down District Council |
| Period: | Quaternary | ||
| Stages: | Late Midlandian | ||
| Site Description | |
|---|---|
| Highlights: | |
The Moore Lodge Moraine runs north-south from the Giant’s Grave [J289 150] to a point east of Derryvogue Harbour [J304 128]. The moraine rises up to 20m above the surrounding countryside and is up to 150m wide. This ridge represents a glacial moraine deposited by sheet flow. It is one of several such ridges that mark the limits of a glacier that retreated westwards across the Mourne Plain towards Carlingford Lough during the Late Midlandian. | |
| Description: | |
This dissected, subdued ridge trends south to north from 500m east of Derryvogue Harbour [J304 128] to the vicinity of the Giant’s Grave [J289 150] then northwestwards across the plain. Ridge remnants rise to around 20m above the intermorainal lows and are up to 150m wide. Higher and more continuous moraine ridges trend in a similar direction both to the east and west of the main ridge. A pit excavated in the southernmost fragments of the moraine [J290 130] contains a section 30m long and up to 8m deep. Three facies are present within the pit: laminated medium and fine sand, stratified gravel and stratified diamict. | |
| Importance: | |
The site is of scientific value as it provides evidence of the nature of the withdrawal of the Late Midlandian ice in this area. The section through the ridge near its southern end allows detailed facies analysis through a moraine ridge. | |
| Interpretation: | |
The high degree of sorting and the lateral extent of the beds exposed in the Moore Lodge Moraine indicate deposition by sheet flow. The penetration of the laminae by granules and graded beds indicates that the lamination is the result of sedimentary rather than tectonic processes. This indicates that the sands were deposited as a flat outwash surface before being pushed glaciotectonically into their present ridge morphology. Ice push must have been deep-seated as no sole-thrust is recorded. Extensional reverse and normal faulting record the removal of support as the ice retreated westwards. Conformable contacts between the three facies indicate that they were all deposited in a subaqueous setting prior to glaciotectonic deformation. A vertical increase in the cobble content of the gravel beds indicates an increasing proximity to the ice margin or a switch in the efflux position. Textural changes between gravel and diamict, with an increased cobble content in the diamict may also indicate an advancing ice front. Stacked beds, sharp bed boundaries and a dominance of matrix support are all characteristic features of pulsed debris flows. Ridges on the Mourne Plain represent ice limits of a glacier that retreated westwards across the Mourne Plain towards Carlingford Lough. Two major phases of ice activity are recognised. Ridges between Ballymartin and the Cranfield moraine record a minimum of 14 major standstills or oscillations during the main withdrawal of the Late Midlandian ice. | |
| Notes: | |
See also ESCR Key Site 444 - Mourne Plain Complex - Moore Lodge Moraine [Sand and Gravel Landscapes Block]. | |
| Keywords | |
|---|---|
| Rocks: | Diamict, Gravel, Sand |
| Relations: | Glaciotectonic, Subaqueous outwash |
| Geomorph: | moraine ridge, outwash |
| Paleoenv: | deglacial |
| Measurements | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length: | Width: | up to 150m | Height: | up to 20m | |
| Depth: | Area: | ||||
| Access | |
|---|---|
| Approach: | This site consists of a low ridge running north-south from the Giant’s Grave [J289 150] to east of Derryvogue Harbour [J304 128]. |
| Uses | |
| Educ. Level: | The site is of limited educational value, although it would be of interest to research students and third level students of Quaternary studies. |
| Record type: | SLNCI Report | ||
| Entered by: | E M Porter | ||
| Last updated: | 09/10/03 | ||
| Enlander, I., Dempster, M. & Doughty, P., 2026. Moore Lodge Moraine - site of local interest, County Down, site details. [In] Earth Science Conservation Review. https://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.php?item=742. Accessed on 2026-11-06. |
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