:Robeston Wathen Quarries

{{Short description|Protected area in Pembrokeshire, Wales}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox Site of Special Scientific Interest

|name= Robeston Wathen Quarries

|image=

|image_caption=

|aos= Pembrokeshire

|interest= Geological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|SN084160}}

|coordinates = {{coord|51.810|-4.780|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

|displaymap= Wales

|area= 1.64 ha

|notifydate=1967

|cyref=

}}

Robeston Wathen Quarries is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (or SSSI) in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, immediately to the north of the village of Robeston Wathen. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest since January 1967 in an attempt to protect its fragile geological elements.{{cite web|title=Robeston Wathen Quarries|url=http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes-and-sites/sssis/sssi-sites/robeston-wathen-quarries.aspx|archive-url=https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20110905032805/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes-and-sites/sssis/sssi-sites/robeston-wathen-quarries.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 September 2011|accessdate=15 May 2015}} The site has an area of 1.64 hectares and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.

Type

This site is designated due to its geological quality: Robeston Wathen Quarries SSSI has one special feature: Caradoc - Ashgill (late Ordovician) sedimentary rocks in disused quarries and a stream bed. In Wales, geological sites range from quarries to rocky outcrops and massive sea-cliffs.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} 30% of SSSIs in Wales are notified for geological and geomorphological features.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

The sedimentary rocks of impure limestones, calcareous mudstones and black mudstones have yielded a variety of fossils which include evidence that the rocks are from the Caradoc – Ashgill stages - around 440 million years ago. The fossils also provide a means of correlation with other similar sites, and are catalogued by National Museum Wales.{{cite book|title=Catalogue of Type, Figured and Cited Fossils in the National Museum of Wales: Supplement 1971-1994|author=Owens, R. M. and Bassett, M. G.|pages=37–38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRRs8d2W74gC&q=Robeston+Wathen+quarries|date=1995|isbn=9780720004229|accessdate=15 February 2019}}

See also

References

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