Stackpole Quay - Trewent Point is a cliff on the
Castlemartin Castlemartin may refer to:
* Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire, a village in Wales
** Castlemartin (hundred), a former administrative unit in Wales named after the village
**Castlemartin Training Area
The Castlemartin Training Area is located within ...
Peninsula of South
Pembrokeshire, South Wales
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park occu ...
and is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It has been designated as a SSSI since January 1977 in an attempt to protect its fragile biological and geological elements.
Countryside Council for Wales website (Natural Resources Wales since 2013)
accessdate: 30 December 2013 The site has an area of and is managed by Natural Resources Wales
Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Coun ...
.
Type and features
This SSSI has been notified as being of both geological and biological importance. Many fossils have contributed greatly towards assigning a Wenlock Wenlock may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Little Wenlock, a village in Shropshire
* Much Wenlock, a town in Shropshire
** (Much) Wenlock (UK Parliament constituency)
** Wenlock Priory, a 7th/12th-century monastery
* Wenlock Basin, a canal basi ...
age to the rocks. Some elements of this fauna have more in common with North American species than with those seen in the rest of Wales. This Grey Sandstone site also represents the best exposure of Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozoi ...
rocks within the block. The folds and dislocations in these rocks exemplifies the overall structure of the southern part of one of the major zones of the Variscan belt in Pembrokeshire.
The limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
cliffs also support crevice communities such as thrift (''Armeria maritima
''Armeria maritima'', the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink ...
''), sea plantain (''Plantago maritima
''Plantago maritima'', the sea plantain, seaside plantain or goose tongue, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It has a subcosmopolitan distribution in temperate and Arctic regions, native to most of Europe, n ...
''), rock sea-spurrey (''Spergularia rupicola
''Spergularia rupicola'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Ca ...
''), sea-lavender (''Limonium binervosum
''Limonium binervosum'', commonly known as rock sea-lavender, is an aggregate species in the family Plumbaginaceae.
Despite the common name, rock sea-lavender is not related to the lavenders or to rosemary but is a perennial herb with small vio ...
'') and golden-samphire (''Inula crithmoides
The golden samphire (''Limbarda crithmoides'') is a perennial coastal species, which may be found growing on salt marsh or sea cliffs across western and southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Golden samphire has a tufted habit, and the plan ...
'').
See also
*
References
{{reflist
External links
Natural Resources Wales website
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Pembrokeshire
Cliffs of Pembrokeshire