Cold Ash Quarry facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
View towards Cold Ash Quarry
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| Area of Search | Berkshire |
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| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 0.4 hectares (0.99 acres) |
| Notification | 1984 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Cold Ash Quarry is a very special natural site located north of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It's quite small, about the size of half a football field (0.4 hectares). This quarry is officially recognized as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its amazing geology. It's also part of the Geological Conservation Review, which means it's one of the most important places in Britain for understanding Earth's history.
Contents
A Window to the Past
What makes Cold Ash Quarry so unique? It's like a time capsule! Inside the rocks, scientists have found incredible fossils of plants and insects. These fossils are hidden in layers of silt and clay. These layers are part of a geological formation called the Reading Beds.
Ancient Life in the Rocks
The fossils found here are incredibly old. They date back about 60 million years! Imagine, that's long before humans existed. These fossils give us clues about what life was like on Earth so long ago.
Plants from Millions of Years Ago
Many of the fossils are well-preserved leaves from flowering plants. These are called angiosperms. They look very similar to the leaves you might see on trees today. Finding such detailed plant fossils helps scientists learn about ancient plant life.
Tiny Artists: Leaf-Miner Insects
Even more exciting is the discovery of evidence of leaf-miner insects. These tiny insects lived inside plant leaves. As they ate their way through the leaves, they left behind winding tunnels. At Cold Ash Quarry, scientists have found these tiny tunnels preserved in the fossilized leaves. This is the only place in Britain where fossil evidence of leaf-miner activity has ever been found! It's like finding the ancient artwork of a bug.
What are the Reading Beds?
The Reading Beds are a series of rock layers. They were formed during a time called the Paleocene epoch. This was right after the dinosaurs disappeared. These layers are made of sand, clay, and silt. They tell us about the ancient environments that existed in this area. It was likely a warm, swampy place millions of years ago.
Visiting Cold Ash Quarry
It's important to know that Cold Ash Quarry is on private land. This means there is no public access to the site. It is protected to preserve its unique geological features and fossils for future study.
