Aldons Quarry
Geological Conservation Review site | GCR #3163 | Stratigraphy | Llandeilo
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.
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
The rock succession at Aldons Quarry and the changes in water depth indicated by its fossils help to demonstrate the importance of basement faulting in the Girvan district during the Ordovician. This included the progressive northward extension of sedimentation through time over the eroded Ballantrae Complex, across a series of major NE-SW faults. Aldons is also the type locality for a large number of fossil species, all of which have very strong affinities to those of North America, indicating the greater proximity during the Llanvirn and early Caradoc of the Midland Valley Terrane to the low-latitude Laurentian plate than to the Avalonian microplate, which included England and Wales.