West Gloucestershire Geodiversity Audit & Local Geodiversity Action Plan
[Completed: March 2008, Supported by Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund]
This project forms part of the development of a Local Geodiversity Action Plan (LGAP) for the county of Gloucestershire.
The geology and landscape of Gloucestershire can be generally defined in three distinct areas; the Cotswolds, the Severn Vale, and West Gloucestershire. The county LGAP will be produced from an amalgamation of three documents covering these three areas.
The county of Gloucestershire has such a variety of rocks and landscape that it truly deserves the use of the term ‘geodiversity’ when describing it. West Gloucestershire effectively covers the Forest of Dean District, west of the River Severn, bordering the counties of Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. The landscape of the area is a varied mix of plateau in the south, to gently rolling plain with occasional steep-sided hills in the north, with an area of flat flood plain bordering the River Severn. The River Wye, which forms much of the county boundary in the south-west, runs through a deeply incised gorge and forms part of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The rocks in West Gloucestershire range from a small area of Precambrian granite and gneiss at the northern tip of the area, to Lower Jurassic clays and silts in the east, with Pleistocene sands and gravels, and recent alluvium along the rivers. This extremely varied geology has a very strong influence on the landscape, vegetation and wildlife, but perhaps the strongest influence of it has been on the industry and heritage of the area.
Contact GGT for more details on 01452 864438 or info@glosgeotrust.org.uk.
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