m. 

 NOTTINGHAM DISTRICT 



i. THE GEOLOGY OF THE DISTRICT 



BY 



Professor H. H. SWINNERTON, D.Sc, S. G. CLIFT, M.Sc, and 



P. E. KENT, B.Sc. 



Introduction 



The area covered by this survey includes Nottinghamshire and the 

 adjoining portions of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. It 

 forms a compact physical unit Umited on west, south and east by the 

 high grounds of the Derbyshire hills, Charnwood, the uplands of 

 Leicestershire Wolds and Lincoln Cliflf respectively. On the north it is 

 bounded by the Humber Carrlands and the marshy ground around the 

 lower reaches of the Trent and its tributary the Idle. Seven gaps in this 

 ring of physical barriers give access to the country beyond. The gate- 

 ways of the Middle Trent and Soar lie between the Charnwood upland 

 and the Derbyshire Hills on the one hand and the Leicestershire Wolds 

 on the other. The valley of the Witham crosses the boundary twice and 

 in doing so has given rise to one exit south of Grantham and another 

 at Lincoln. Between these lies the almost dry valley of the Sleaford 

 Gap. In the north are the gateways of Bawtry and the Rother, lying 

 between the Derbyshire Hills and the marshlands of the Idle, and separ- 

 ated from one another by the rising ground of the Permian limestone. 



The geological formations which underly this area and its boundaries 

 are as follows: — 



Glacial and Post Glacial deposits : 



Mesozoic. 



Inferior Oolite. 



Lias. 



Trias. 

 Palaeozoic. 



Permian. 



Carboniferous. 

 Precambrian. 



Charnian. 

 In the northern part of the area the outcrops of these formations 

 follow a north to south course, but as they approach the latitude of 



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