Boyne Quarry
Geological Conservation Review site | GCR #177 | Quaternary Geology | Quaternary of Scotland
Scotland's geosites are chosen because of their local, national or international importance. Take only photos, leave only footprints: avoid causing any damage to this site. You can walk almost anywhere in Scotland without the need to ask permission or keep to paths, but you have a responsibility to care for your own safety, to respect people's privacy and peace of mind and to cause no damage.
This site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage the protected natural features of a SSSI, and this includes unauthorised sample collection.
The right of access does not extend to quarries, building sites or any land where public access is prohibited, or to the collection of geological samples.
Summary
An important site demonstrating the two classic Late Devensian tills of the southern Moray Firth area and a third, older, till. The latter is strongly weathered and may be of pre-Devensian age. If so, it is the only current exposure of its type in Scotland. The two tills above are distinguished on the basis of shell, erratic and silt/clay content. They probably reflect changing ice movement conditions during the Late Devensian (last) glaciation. The upper till probably corresponds to the well-known Upper or Northerly Drift, the lower one to the Lower or South-easterly Drift and the Shelly Boulder Clay of Banffshire. Boyne Quarry is, therefore, an important site for Quaternary stratigraphy in north-east Scotland.
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