SW14 - Sandstone 50 cm from microgabbro
Collection:
Click the microscope button to view a thin section for this sample.
Microscope
Click the microscope button to view a thin section for this sample.
Microscope

Fact sheet

SW14 - Sandstone 50 cm from microgabbro

Medium grey sandstone, from the same unit as SW5, but collected approximately 50 cm from the contact with the microgabbro (SW4 and SW13), near Highbridge Road Steps. There is little sign in the field of contact metamorphism ('baking') of the sandstone by heat from the microgabbro intrusion.

The sandstones were deposited in a low-lying, deltaic environment when the region lay near the equator. Flattened fossilised tree-trunks have been found in Carboniferous rocks close by in Brewin's Cutting, indicating that the area was thickly forested.

In thin section, the rock has a typical fragmentary, detrital texture. Colour variation defines clear bedding layers that are oriented vertically, across the short axis of the thin section. Colourless quartz grains are mainly subrounded to subangular, but a few highly rounded grains are also visible. Feldspars are also present, generally with dusty alteration. There is much dark brown material: some appears to be biotite mica, variably altered, as it shows high birefringence. Much of the fuzzy dark brown matter along grain boundaries is probably a mixture of clays and iron oxide or similar insoluble material. Uncommon, small clear laths are of muscovite mica. Rare grains under crossed polars are finely polycrystalline, made up of numerous much smaller grains.

Patches of black material occur sporadically. The second-largest of these, near the centre of the section, has a curved form reminiscent of a brachiopod or bivalve shell; the lower fragment of this has a pattern of holes that suggests an organic origin, perhaps a punctate shell. It is possible that this is a lingula shell, heavily altered or replaced by opaque material (hematite, phosphate?).

This sample was collected as part of the 'Macro to Micro' project.

Additional images
  • Hand specimen of sandstone on black background
Map
52.486602, -2.095533
Description:
Exposures just west of Highbridge Steps
Precision:
Good
About this collection

This Collection showcases the geodiversity of a classic geological site: the Saltwells National Nature Reserve in the West Midlands.

As well as displaying thin section and hand specimen views along with information setting them in the context of their landscapes, we also include perspectives and creative responses to the geological heritage of the sites from the local community.

Explore the stories of the rock layers at Saltwells and Wren's Nest NNRs, designed by students at King Edward VI School, Stourbridge:


This Collection was made possible by funding awarded to the 'Macro to Micro' project by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under their 'Growing Roots' scheme.

Sample details

Collection: Saltwells
Type
sedimentary
Rock-forming mineral
quartz
feldspar
biotite
muscovite
Category guide  
Category Guide
Title
Refers to any word or phrase that appears in the individual rock names. Names are generally descriptive; they allow users to search for broad terms like ‘granite’ as well as more specific names such as ‘breccia’. However, the adjacent descriptions of the specimens captures a wider range of general words and phrases and is a more powerful search tool.
Description
Refers to any word or phrase that appears anywhere in the descriptions of the specimens
Accessory minerals
Minerals that occur in very low abundance in a rock. They are usually not visible with the naked eye and contribute perhapssver, they often dominate the rare elements such as platinum group metals.
Rock-forming minerals
Minerals that make up the bulk of all rock samples and are also the ones used in rock classi?cation.
Timescale
Selecting one or more period, for example 'Jurassic'.
Theme
A term used to group together related samples that are not already gathered into a single Collection. For instance, there is a ‘SW England granites’ theme that includes such rock types as granite, hydrothermal breccia, skarn and vein samples.
Category
A general term used to label a rock sample. It is a useful way of grouping similar samples throughout a collection. Category names are often, but not exclusively, common rock names (e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, greisen, skarn, gneiss, amphibolite, limestone, sandstone).
Owner
The owner of the sample that appears in the collection. For example, NASA owns all the samples that appear in the Moon Rocks collection
We would like to thank the following for the use of this sample: