Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Essex |
---|---|
Grid reference | TQ556799 |
Interest | Geological |
Area | 4.0 hectares |
Notification | 1998 |
Location map | Magic Map |
Purfleet Road, Aveley is a 4 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Aveley in Essex. [1] [2]
The site was exposed as a result of excavations for building the A13 road in 1997. It dates to the interglacial period, MIS7, around 200,000 years ago. The site has yielded mollusc insect and mammal fossils, including the first jungle cat discovered in Britain. It is described by Natural England as a "site of national importance for the study of Quaternary environments and climates". [1] [3]
There is access to the site from Purfleet Road, but no geology is visible as the excavations have been filled in.
Rainham Marshes is an RSPB nature reserve in the east of London, adjacent to the Thames Estuary in Purfleet, Thurrock and the London Borough of Havering.
Dengie nature reserve is a 12 sq. mi. biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between the estuaries of the Blackwater and Crouch near Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex. It is also a National Nature Reserve, a Special Protection Area, a Nature Conservation Review site, a Geological Conservation Review site and a Ramsar site. It is part of the Essex estuaries Special Area of Conservation. An area of 30 acres is the Bradwell Shell Bank nature reserve, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Hornchurch Cutting is a 0.8-hectare (2.0-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site.
Wansunt Pit is a 1.9-hectare (4.7-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dartford Heath between Crayford in the London Borough of Bexley and Dartford in Kent. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site. It is important geologically because it exposes the Dartford Heath Gravel, and the relationship of this exposure to the Swanscombe sequence and the Thames Terraces is a controversial issue in Thames Pleistocene studies. The site is part of Braeburn Park, a nature reserve managed by the London Wildlife Trust.
The Crouch and Roach Estuaries are a 1729 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the mouth of the Crouch and Roach rivers in Essex. The Crouch part of the SSSI stretches from near Battlesbridge to Foulness Island, and the Roach from Rochford to the junction with the Crouch. Part of the site is in the Mid-Essex Coast Special Protection Area under the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and a Ramsar wetland site of international importance. It is also part of the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation. An area of 65 hectares is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust as the Lion Creek and Lower Raypits nature reserve and 8 hectares at Woodham Fen, both of which are managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. A small area is also a geological SSSI, The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch.
Purfleet Chalk Pits is a 10.7-hectare (26-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Purfleet in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Ardleigh Gravel Pit is a 1.2-hectare (3.0-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Ardleigh in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Wivenhoe Gravel Pit is a 2.1-hectare (5.2-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Wivenhoe in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
West Wood is a 23.6 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Little Sampford, north of Thaxted in northwestern Essex. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Holland-on-Sea Cliff is a 0.1-hectare (0.25-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Holland-on-Sea, north-west of Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
St Osyth Pit is a 0.1-hectare (0.25-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of St Osyth in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Maldon Cutting is a 0.1-hectare (0.25-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Maldon in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Goldsands Road Pit is a 1.3-hectare (3.2-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Southminster in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Newney Green Pit is a 0.07-hectare (0.17-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Writtle in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
The River Ter SSSI is a stretch of the River Ter and its banks south of Great Leighs in Essex which has been designated a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Lion Pit is a 2.5-hectare (6.2-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Grays in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and part of the Chafford Gorges Nature Park, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
The Naze SSSI is a 22 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on The Naze peninsula north of Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site both for its Pleistocene fossils and for its birds. It is part of The Naze Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Tiptree Heath is a 25 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Tiptree in Essex, England. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust together with the Friends of Tiptree Heath.
Woodham Fen is an 8.1-hectare (20-acre) nature reserve in South Woodham Ferrers in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Crouch and Roach Estuaries Site of Special Scientific Interest.