The Naze
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationEssex
Grid referenceTM 266237
InterestGeological
Area22.0 hectares
Notification1986
Location mapMagic Map

The Naze SSSI is a 22 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on The Naze peninsula north of Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex.[1][2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site both for its Pleistocene fossils[3] and for its birds.[4] It is part of The Naze Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.[5]

The citation for this site states that the cliffs expose many invertebrate fossils from the early Pleistocene Red Crag Formation, and it is the type site for the Waltonian, the first British stage of the Pleistocene.[1][6] However, some authorities date the Red Crag and the Waltonian to the Piacenzian, the last stage of the preceding Pliocene.[7][8]

The site is also significant for its Eocene (56 to 34 million years ago) plant and avian fossils, and it is described by Natural England as "of considerable importance in the study of bird evolution".[1]

The beach below the cliff is open to the public.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Naze citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Map of The Naze". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Walton-on-the-Naze (Quaternary of East Anglia)". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Walton-on-the-Naze (Aves)". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Naze Centre". Essex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Allaby, Michael (2013). Oxford Dictionary of Geology & Earth Sciences (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 626. ISBN 978-0-19-965306-5.
  7. ↑ "Red Crag Formation". British Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Global Chronostratigraphical Correlation Table for the Last 2.7 Million Years. v.2011". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
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51°51′47″N 1°17′17″E / 51.863°N 1.288°E / 51.863; 1.288

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