Pitstone Quarry is a geological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

Pitstone Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn, with possible variation Pychelesthorn in 1399) is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the Chiltern Hills, centred east of Aylesbury and south o ...

, Buckinghamshire. It is the area between the lake and the railway line in College Lake nature reserve. The site exposes deposits of the Middle and Late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

, during the last half-million years. Most sediments are the result of

solifluction Solifluction is a collective name for gradual processes in which a mass moves down a slope ("mass wasting") related to freeze-thaw activity. This is the standard modern meaning of solifluction, which differs from the original meaning given to i ...

, repeated slippage during ice ages, with channels in the slopes filled with sediments. The most recent warm period, the Ipswichian around 125,000 years ago, contains hippopotamus fossils. According to

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

evaluation continues and "the results are eagerly awaited". There is access to College Lake from Upper Icknield Way, but the most important exposure is in an area closed to the public.

References

{{coord, 51.820887, -0.647028, type:landmark_region:GB-BNE, display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Buckinghamshire

Quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...