Bourne SSSI, Avon

Bourne SSSI, Avon (grid reference ST484600) is an 8.47 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Burrington, North Somerset, notified in 1992.

Bourne
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Bourne SSSI, Avon is located in Somerset
Bourne SSSI, Avon
Location within Somerset
LocationAvon
Grid referenceST484600
Coordinates51.33674°N 2.74210°W / 51.33674; -2.74210
InterestGeological
Area20.93 acres (0.0847 km2; 0.03270 sq mi)
Notification1992 (1992)
Natural England website

This site is of considerable importance because it has provided detailed information upon the composition of a north Mendip Pleistocene alluvial fan. An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain.

At Bourne sections have shown highly weathered gravels overlain by sandy silts and clay loams, the highest levels in the sequence showing evidence of cryoturbation. Two phases of fan sediment deposition were separated by a long period of subaerial weathering, which may represent an interglacial period.[1]

References
  1. English Nature citation sheet for the site Archived October 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 9 July 2006)
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