Walton-on-the-Naze 17^th February 2001

This trip was lead by Brian Harvey, assisted by Di Smith, Di Clements and members of London Branch Committee. The trip was designed to give S260 students a flying start with their course.

We learnt that rocks, even when they are 54 million years old, do not have to be hardened. The cliffs at Walton are particularly interesting as you can see rocks of 3 different ages. They are an SSSI.

	We examined the 54 million year old London Clay and compared it to the overlying Red Crag which is only 2 Ma old
	We looked for clues as to how they were formed and what they consist of
	We looked at modern beach processes for comparison
	We looked for fossils to help us understand the ancient environments
	We discussed what might have happened in the intervening years
	We looked for evidence of the more recent Ice Ages
	We even found evidence of volcanoes

Click Here for a Map:

Click for the related London Platform article

Very recent rotational slippage at Walton-on-the-Naze	The same slip from the beach
Brian explains the processes	Another slip with very sticky mud flow
Layering in London Clay	Looking at the clasts on the beach
Looking at the features in cliff	Surface features of the London Clay exposure
An ash layer showing volcanic activity in the Tertiary	Examining fossil finds on the beach
Miniature "braided streams" forming on the beach	Applying observational techniques to the local sea defenses

Walton-on-the-Naze 17th February 2001

Send mail to paul@lougs.freeserve.co.uk with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: May 10, 2002

Walton-on-the-Naze 17^th February 2001

Send mail to paul@lougs.freeserve.co.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: May 10, 2002