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Geoconservation - geological heritage under threat |
Warwickshire's oldest rocks date back over 600 million years and many divisions of geological time are represented in the county.
Although Warwickshire has great geological diversity, exposures of rocks are quite rare.
The large active quarries working the hard Precambrian, Cambrian and Ordovician rocks in the Nuneaton area, the cement works which exploit the Jurassic clays and limestones in the east of the county, and the scattered pits created by sand and gravel extraction in the youngest deposits form the vast majority of present exposures.
Disused quarries are valuable resources, as new sites for refuse disposal are always in demand. This results in our geological heritage coming under increasing pressure as the need to fill the quarries constantly grows.
To help conserve those sites and to increase public awareness of the need for geological site conservation, the Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group (WGCG) has been established. Part of the WGCG's work involves identifying and establishing Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS) throughout the county. Warwickshire Museum is also investigating the possibility of a Local Geodiversity Action Plan to further safeguard the county's geology and landscape.
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