Volume 30 of the JNCC's Geological Conservation Review Series
was published in June 2004. The new book, British Lower
Jurassic Stratigraphy (by M J Simms, N Chidlaw, N Morton and K
N Page), details the character and scientific importance of 45 GCR
sites specially selected to represent this geological topic. The
sites range from small disused quarries to magnificent coastal
cliffs, which collectively represent 22 million years of Earth
history, from 200 to 178 million years ago.
The Lower Jurassic outcrop in Britain forms a strip of
predominantly marine mudstones and limestones, commonly termed the
'Lias', which extends from the East Devon and west Dorset coast
through Somerset, Gloucestershire, the East Midlands and
Humberside, to the coast of Cleveland and North Yorkshire.
Outcrops in Scotland are found predominantly in the Hebrides.
Familiar sites include Robin Hood's Bay and Whitby in North
Yorkshire, and part of the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage
Coast.
The variety of Lower Jurassic rocks and the wealth of fossils
they contain have contributed enormously to our knowledge and
understanding of the factors that influenced the Early Jurassic
environment, such as sea-level fluctuation, basin subsidence and
climate change.