| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TM 405 774[1] |
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 1.6 hectares[1] |
| Notification | 1988[1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Holton Pit is a 1.6-hectare (4.0-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Halesworth in Suffolk.[1][2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site.[3]
This was thought to be the only site known to show the sequence of the early Pleistocene Westleton Beds overlain by "quarttzose gravels" deposited by the proto-Thames river as the Kesgrave Sands & Gravels. The "quartzose gravels" are now thought most likely to be Anglian glacial outwash. The Westleton Beds mainly consist of sand but were quarried here for gravels that were a coastal gravel accumulation, especially gravels washed into large channels, and the site is close to their known inland boundary and throws light on their spatial limits.[4]
Footpaths from Holton go through the site.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Holton Pit". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- ↑ "Map of Holton Pit". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- ↑ "Holton (Quaternary of East Anglia)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ↑ "Holton Pit citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
52°20′31″N 1°31′44″E / 52.342°N 1.529°E
