Kimmeridge Clay
The Kimmeridge Clay is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Late Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous age and occurs in southern and eastern England and in the North Sea. This rock formation is the major source rock for North Sea oil. The fossil fauna of the Kimmeridge Clay includes turtles, crocodiles, sauropods, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs, as well as a number of invertebrate species.
| Kimmeridge Clay | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
Grey cliffs of Upper Kimmeridge Clay above the beach at Egmont Bight | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Ancholme Group (onshore), Humber Group (offshore) |
| Sub-units | Birch Sandstone Member Burns Sandstone Member Claymore Sandstone Member Dirk Sandstone Member Magnus Sandstone Member Ptarmigan Sandstone Member Ribble Sandstone Member |
| Underlies | Portland Sand Formation, Speeton Clay Formation, Spilsby Sandstone |
| Overlies | Ampthill Clay, Corallian Group |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Mudstone |
| Other | Siltstone, Sandstone, Conglomerate |
| Location | |
| Region | England (surface) North Sea (subsurface) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Kimmeridge Bay |
| Location | Type section - North Sea well 47/15- 1 at 885-919 m depth Type area - coastal outcrops from Black Head, Weymouth to Chapman's Pool |
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