Kimmeridge clay facts for kids
Stratigraphic range: Kimmeridgian-Tithonian
Grey cliffs of Upper Kimmeridge Clay above the beach at Egmont Bight
|Unit of||Ancholme Group|
|Other||Siltstone, Sandstone, Conglomerate|
North Sea (subsurface)
|Named for||Kimmeridge Bay|
The Kimmeridge clay formation is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay and mudstones. It is of Upper Jurassic age, and occurs in Europe. It gives its name to a stage in the Upper Jurassic called the Kimmeridgian, lasting from 157.3–152.1 million years ago.
The clay is named after the village of Kimmeridge on the Dorset coast of England, where it is well exposed and forms part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. It exists across England, in a band stretching from Dorset in the south-west, north-east to East Anglia and Hull. The River Humber Bridge's foundations are in the Kimmeridge Clay deposits under the Humber estuary.
Kimmeridge Clay is of great economic importance, being the major source rock for oil fields in the North Sea hydrocarbon province. A Kimmeridge Oil Shale Project (KOSP) has been pursued by the UK based oil and shale gas exploration company Cuadrilla Resources.
Images for kids
Jurassic shale cliffs of the Kimmeridge Clay formation
Kimmeridge clay Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.