Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationHertfordshire
Grid referenceTL172299
InterestGeological
Area0.9 hectares
Notification1989
Location mapMagic Map

Oughtonhead Lane is a 0.9-hectare (2.2-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hitchin in Hertfordshire. The local planning authority is North Hertfordshire District Council. The site has been identified as of national importance in the Geological Conservation Review.[1][2][3]

The site probably dates to the Hoxnian interglacial 420,000 to 300,000 years ago. It was then a marsh fed by springs, and it has a tufa which contains fossil land snails and mammal bones which show the climate and local environmental conditions.[4]

The site is a public lane and a shallow trench would be required to expose the geology.[4]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oughtonhead Lane.

References

  1. ^ "Oughtonhead Lane citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Map of Oughtonhead Lane". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Oughtonhead Lane, Hitchin (Quaternary of East Anglia)". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b "A Geological Conservation Strategy for Hertfordshire" (PDF). Hertfordshire RIGS Group. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.

51°57′19″N 0°17′45″W / 51.9552°N 0.2959°W / 51.9552; -0.2959

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