South Wales Coal Measures Group

Last updated
South Wales Coal Measures Group
Stratigraphic range: Langsettian-Westphalian
Type Group
Unit of Coal Measures Supergroup
Underlies Warwickshire Group
Overlies Marros Group
Thicknessup to 1600m
Lithology
Primary mudstone, sandstone
Other siltstone, coal, seatearth
Location
RegionSouth Wales, southern England
Extentacross south Wales and southern England
Type section
Named for South Wales

The South Wales Coal Measures Group is a lithostratigraphical term referring to the coal-bearing succession of rock strata which occur in South Wales within the Westphalian Stage of the Carboniferous Period. The Group name is also applied to rocks of similar age across southern England from the Bristol Coalfield east to the concealed Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Kent Coalfields. In formal use, the term replaces the earlier Coal Measures Group [1] The Group comprises the:

  • South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation
  • South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation
  • South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation [2]

The term 'Productive Coal Measures' was formerly used for this succession. Note that, other than a 0-30m thick sequence immediately above the Cambriense Marine Band, the South Wales rock sequence which had formerly been assigned to the 'Upper Coal Measures' (which was also referred to as the 'Pennant Measures') is no longer considered to be a part of the Coal Measures and is now designated as the Warwickshire Group which is itself subdivided into the Pennant Sandstone Formation and overlying Grovesend Formation. [3]

In South Wales, the South Wales Coal Measures Group is preceded (underlain) by the Marros Group which is of Namurian age though in southeast England, the Coal Measures directly overlies Devonian strata. It is succeeded (overlain) by the Warwickshire Group which comprises a largely non-productive sequence of red beds - the former 'Barren Coal Measures'. [4]

The South Wales Coal Measures Group spans a time from the Langsettian to the Bolsovian sub-age.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mynydd Machen</span>

Mynydd Machen or Machen Mountain is a 362-metre-high (1,188 ft) hill lying between the town of Risca and the village of Machen in Caerphilly County Borough in south Wales. Its summit is crowned by a trig point and a mast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennant Measures</span>

The Pennant Measures is the traditional name for a sequence of sedimentary rocks of the South Wales Coalfield. They were also referred to as the Upper Coal Measures and assigned to the Westphalian 'C' and Westphalian 'D' stages of the Carboniferous Period. The Pennant Measures were divided into the Lower Pennant Measures and the Upper Pennant Measures, differing from the underlying Middle and Lower Coal Measures in being principally of sandstone units – known collectively as the Pennant Sandstone – with mudstone being the subsidiary rock type. Numerous coal seams occur within the Pennant Measures though they are less common than in the underlying Coal Measures.

The geology of Monmouthshire in southeast Wales largely consists of a thick series of sedimentary rocks of different types originating in the Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Triassic and Jurassic periods.

The Warwickshire Group is a lithostratigraphic unit of rock strata defined within the British Carboniferous system. Within the Pennine Basin it overlies the Coal Measures Group and is deemed to be of late Westphalian and Stephanian age. In the South Wales Coalfield it consists of the Pennant Sandstone Formation and overlying Grovesend Formation. It contains the youngest Carboniferous rocks in Britain. The name Warwickshire Group is a relatively recent one, replacing a variety of earlier names for the succession of coal-barren red-beds such as Barren Coal Measures and Red Measures which overlie the productive coal measures. It is derived from the Warwickshire Coalfield where they achieve their thickest development.

The Coal Measures Group is a lithostratigraphical term coined to refer to the coal-bearing succession of rock strata which occur in the United Kingdom within the Westphalian Stage of the Carboniferous Period. Other than in Northern Ireland the term is now obsolete in formal use and is replaced by the Pennine Coal Measures Group, Scottish Coal Measures Group and the South Wales Coal Measures Group for the three distinct depositional provinces of the British mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal measures</span>

The coal measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal Measures Formation. The group records the deposition of fluvio-deltaic sediments which consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal. In most places, the coal measures are underlain by coarser clastic sequences known as Millstone Grit, of Namurian age. The top of the coal measures may be marked by an unconformity, the overlying rocks being Permian or later in age. In some parts of Britain, however, the Coal Measures grade up into mainly coal-barren red beds of late Westphalian and possibly Stephanian age. Within the Pennine Basin these barren measures are now referred to as the Warwickshire Group, from the district where they achieve their thickest development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherwood Sandstone Group</span>

The Sherwood Sandstone Group is a Triassic lithostratigraphic group which is widespread in Britain, especially in the English Midlands. The name is derived from Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire which is underlain by rocks of this age. It has economic importance as the reservoir of the Morecambe Bay gas field, the second largest gas field in the UK.

The Cumbrian Coast Group is a Permian lithostratigraphic group which occurs in the western part of Cumbria in northern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clackmannan Group</span>

The Clackmannan Group is the name given to a suite of rocks of late Dinantian and Namurian age laid down during the Carboniferous period in the Midland Valley of Scotland.

The geology of Lancashire in northwest England consists in the main of Carboniferous age rocks but with Triassic sandstones and mudstones at or near the surface of the lowlands bordering the Irish Sea though these are largely obscured by Quaternary deposits.

The Pennine Coal Measures Group is a lithostratigraphical term referring to the coal-bearing succession of rock strata which occur in the United Kingdom within the Westphalian Stage of the Carboniferous Period. In formal use, the term replaces the Coal Measures Group as applied to the succession of coal-bearing strata within the Pennine Basin which includes all of the coalfields of northern England and the English Midlands. It includes the largely concealed Canonbie Coalfield of southern Scotland and the coalfields of northeast Wales and the minor Anglesey coalfield. The sequence consists in the main of mudstones and siltstones together with numerous sandstones, the more significant ones of which are individually named. Some are laterally extensive, others are more restricted in their range. There are numerous coal seams, again with some being more laterally continuous than others. Those which were economically valuable were named though any individual seam may have attracted different names in different pits and different districts. Marine bands preserving distinctive and dateable marine fossils such as goniatites and brachiopods are widespread within the sequence and enable correlation to be made between sequences in one part of the basin and another and with other basins

The geology of County Durham in northeast England consists of a basement of Lower Palaeozoic rocks overlain by a varying thickness of Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic sedimentary rocks which dip generally eastwards towards the North Sea. These have been intruded by a pluton, sills and dykes at various times from the Devonian Period to the Palaeogene. The whole is overlain by a suite of unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age arising from glaciation and from other processes operating during the post-glacial period to the present. The geological interest of the west of the county was recognised by the designation in 2003 of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a European Geopark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milford Haven Group</span>

The Milford Haven Group is a late Silurian to early Devonian lithostratigraphic group in west Wales. The name is derived from the estuary and town of Milford Haven in south Pembrokeshire. The Group comprises calcareous marls with occasional sandstones along with conglomerates and breccias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teign Valley Group</span> Geological formation in southern England

The Teign Valley Group is a late Devonian to late/middle Carboniferous lithostratigraphic group in north Cornwall through Devon and into west Somerset in southwest England. The name is derived from the valley of the River Teign. The Group comprises the Barras Nose, Trambley Cove, Teign Chert and Dowhills Mudstone formations. It also includes the Brendon and St Mellion formations whose stratigraphical context is unclear since all known boundaries of these two unit are tectonic. The Brendon Formation slates extend from Tavistock west to Bodmin Moor. The St Mellion Formation sandstones, siltsones and mudstones are found from Holne northeastwards. The Teign Valley Group was formerly known as the Lower Culm Group or Lower Culm Measures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pembroke Limestone Group</span>

The Pembroke Limestone Group is a stratigraphic unit of Courceyan to Brigantian age found in southern Wales and northern Somerset. It forms part of the Carboniferous Limestone Supergroup. These carbonate rocks developed in platform and ramp environments and are up to 1025m thick in places.

The Craven Group is a lithostratigraphical term referring to the succession of mudstone and limestone rock strata which occur in certain parts of northern and central England and northeast Wales in the United Kingdom within the Chadian to Yeadonian sub-Stages of the Carboniferous Period. Other lithologies including sandstones, siltstones and chert occur within the group. The Group is subdivided into numerous formations, some of which previously enjoyed group status. In stratigraphic order, these are:

The Appleby Group is a lithostratigraphical term referring to the succession of Permian Period aeolian and fluviatile rock strata which occur in northwest England and beneath the Irish Sea in the United Kingdom.

The Leitrim Group is a lithostratigraphical term coined to refer to the succession of rock strata which occur in Northern Ireland within the Visean and Namurian stages of the Carboniferous Period. The group disconformably overlies the Dartry Limestone of the Tyrone Group.

The geology of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England largely consists of a sequence of sedimentary rocks of Ordovician to Permian age. The core area of the Yorkshire Dales is formed from a layer-cake of limestones, sandstones and mudstones laid down during the Carboniferous period. It is noted for its karst landscape which includes extensive areas of limestone pavement and large numbers of caves including Britain's longest cave network.

The geology of the Peak District National Park in England is dominated by a thick succession of faulted and folded sedimentary rocks of Carboniferous age. The Peak District is often divided into a southerly White Peak where Carboniferous Limestone outcrops and a northerly Dark Peak where the overlying succession of sandstones and mudstones dominate the landscape. The scarp and dip slope landscape which characterises the Dark Peak also extends along the eastern and western margins of the park. Although older rocks are present at depth, the oldest rocks which are to be found at the surface in the national park are dolomitic limestones of the Woo Dale Limestone Formation seen where Woo Dale enters Wye Dale east of Buxton.

References

  1. "BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units - Result Details". www.bgs.ac.uk.
  2. "BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units - Result Details". www.bgs.ac.uk.
  3. Waters, C.N. et al 2007. Lithostratigraphical framework for Carboniferous successions of Great Britain (Onshore). British Geological Survey Research Report, RR/07/01 60pp
  4. British Geological Survey 1:625,000 scale geological map Bedrock geology: UK South (5th edn) BGS, Keyworth, Notts