Cumbrian Coast Group Explained

Cumbrian Coast Group
Type:Group
Otherlithology:mudstone, anhydrite, sandstone
Namedfor:coast of Cumbria
Country:England
Subunits:St Bees Shale Formation, St Bees Evaporite Formation, Barrowmouth Mudstone Formation, Eden Shales Formation
Underlies:Sherwood Sandstone Group
Overlies:Appleby Group
Period:Permian

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

Distribution and stratigraphy

The group outcrops near Whitehaven on the Cumbrian coast and beneath the Vale of Eden. It comprises the St Bees Evaporite and the overlying St Bees Shale Formation which are between 0 and 100m and 0 and 215m thick respectively.[1] The lower formation sits atop the mixed lithology breccia known as Brockram.[2] It is also found beneath the Irish Sea where the Barrowmouth Mudstone Formation is the equivalent of the St Bees Shale Formation.[3] The Group can achieve thicknesses in excess of 300m here.

Notes and References

  1. British Geological Survey 1:50,000 scale map sheet (England and Wales series) no 28 Whitehaven)
  2. Web site: BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units - Result Details. Bgs.ac.uk. 14 November 2018.
  3. Web site: BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units. Bgs.ac.uk. 14 November 2018.