Coniston Limestone
Encyclopedia
Coniston Limestone is the sedimentary rock
formation around Coniston
in the English
Lake District
, and forms part of the Windermere Supergroup. It is late Ordovician
or possibly early Silurian
in age and rests unconformably upon the Borrowdale Volcanic Group of rocks, which subsided beneath the sea, after the volcanic period.
Since the seas that gave rise to these deposits were teeming with life, there are fossil
s.
Slowly the sea deepened and, over a long period, muds and sands were deposited. These are the Windermere Group
sediments that are also of great thickness.
Due to the collision of two tectonic plates, some 420 million years ago, the rocks have been intensely heated and squeezed. They have also been uplifted and now the once horizontal beds dip roughly south east at up to 90 degrees. This means that, progressing up the Coppermines Valley, the rocks become older.
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
formation around Coniston
Coniston, Cumbria
Coniston is a village and civil parish in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. It is located in the southern part of the Lake District National Park, between Coniston Water, the third longest lake in the Lake District, and Coniston Old Man; about north east of Barrow-in-Furness.-Geography and...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, and forms part of the Windermere Supergroup. It is late Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
or possibly early Silurian
Silurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
in age and rests unconformably upon the Borrowdale Volcanic Group of rocks, which subsided beneath the sea, after the volcanic period.
Since the seas that gave rise to these deposits were teeming with life, there are fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s.
Slowly the sea deepened and, over a long period, muds and sands were deposited. These are the Windermere Group
Windermere Group (geology)
The Windermere Supergroup is a geological unit formed during the Ordovician to Silurian periods ~, and exposed in the north west of England, including the Pennines and correlates along its strike, in the Isle of Man and Ireland, and down-dip in the Southern Uplands and Welsh Borderlands. It...
sediments that are also of great thickness.
Due to the collision of two tectonic plates, some 420 million years ago, the rocks have been intensely heated and squeezed. They have also been uplifted and now the once horizontal beds dip roughly south east at up to 90 degrees. This means that, progressing up the Coppermines Valley, the rocks become older.