Slickstones Quarry, Cromhall

Slickstones Quarry, Cromhall
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Water filled quarry
LocationAvon
Grid referenceST704916
InterestGeological
Area2.7 hectare
Notification1966
Location mapEnglish Nature

Slickstones Quarry, Cromhall, also known as Cromhall Quarry,[1] (grid reference ST704916) is a 2.7 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Cromhall, South Gloucestershire, England notified in 1966.

The quarry is home to South West Maritime Academy, offering both Diving and Open Water Swimming in the 4 hectare quarry lake as well as a broader site use for commercial maritime safety training by the Academy including STCW, STCW Update, marine engineering and deckhand courses as well as various RYA course offerings.[2] The lake can be used by diving trainees as there is a sloping entry (former road) and a pontoon which is also used as an entry point for the swimmers.

The site shows red Triassic rocks from the Magnesian Conglomerate in fissures of older carboniferous limestone from the Friars Point Limestone.[3]

The fossils of two Clevosaurus species, Cryptovaranoides microlanius and Hwiccewyrm trispiculum have been recovered from Slickstones Quarry in 1939 and 1988, 1953, and the 1970s respectively.[4][1]

  1. ^ a b Butler, R. J.; Meade, L. E.; Cleary, T. J.; McWhirter, K. T.; Brown, E. E.; Kemp, T. S.; Benito, J.; Fraser, N. C. (2023). "Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England". The Anatomical Record. doi:10.1002/ar.25316. PMID 37735997.
  2. ^ "MCA and RYA approved Maritime Training Courses from South West Maritime Academy". Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  3. ^ The story of geology and landscape in South Gloucestershire Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine p.14
  4. ^ Whiteside, D. I.; Chambi-Trowell, S. A. V.; Benton, M. J. (2022). "A Triassic crown squamate". Science Advances. 8 (48): eabq8274. Bibcode:2022SciA....8.8274W. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abq8274. hdl:1983/a3c7a019-cfe6-4eb3-9ac0-d50c61c5319e. ISSN 2375-2548. PMID 36459546.