Sharp's Hill Quarry

{{Short description|Quarry in Oxfordshire, England}}

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= Rough land - geograph.org.uk - 389231.jpg

|image_caption =

|name= Sharp's Hill Quarry

|aos= Oxfordshire

|interest=Geological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|SP 337 358}}

|area= {{convert|2.4|ha|acre|abbr=off}}

|notifydate= 1986

|map=[https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271000248%27 Magic Map]

}}

Sharp's Hill Quarry is a {{convert| 2.4 |ha|acre|abbr=off |adj=on }} geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Banbury in Oxfordshire.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1000248&SiteName=&countyCode=34&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Sharp's Hill Quarry | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 3 June 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271000248%27 |title=Map of Sharp's Hill Quarry|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 3 June 2020}} It is a Geological Conservation Review site.{{cite web |url= http://archive.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=1331 |title= Sharps Hill (Bathonian) |series= Geological Conservation Review |publisher= Joint Nature Conservation Committee |accessdate= 26 February 2020 |archive-date= 3 June 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200603112017/http://archive.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=1331 |url-status= dead }}

This is the type locality of the Sharp's Hill Formation. It is very fossiliferous and dates to the Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic, around 167 million years ago. It is described by Natural England as critical for understanding the Bathonian succession in north Oxfordshire. Strata of the underlying Chipping Norton Formation are also present.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1000248.pdf |title= Sharp's Hill Quarry citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 3 June 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=SHHB|title=The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details: Sharp's Hill Formation|publisher=British Geological Survey|accessdate= 26 February 2020}}