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Geological Formation

East Kirkton Quarry

Fossil Lagerstatten and Fossil Sites

East Kirkton Quarry is an Early Carboniferous limestone quarry near Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland, roughly three hundred and thirty five million years old, formed from sediment deposited around a hot spring system that preserved an early terrestrial ecosystem including some of the oldest known reptile-like amniotes and early amphibians. The site has been especially important for understanding the transition of vertebrate life from water to land during a poorly documented interval sometimes called Romer's Gap.

Facts
Classification
Protected Status
Locally or Regionally Protected 1
Connections

Associated With

Carboniferous, Eras
Source East Kirkton Quarry (Wikipedia)
Limestone, Materials
Source East Kirkton Quarry (Wikipedia)
Tuff, Materials
Source East Kirkton Quarry (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Volcanism, Processes
Source East Kirkton Quarry (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Stratigraphy, Disciplines
Source East Kirkton Quarry (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

United Kingdom

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikidata: East Kirkton Quarry
Sources
1. Wikidata: East Kirkton Quarry
  • Wikidata Q5328735, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Wikidata P1435 heritage-designation or P3425 Natura 2000 claim on the formation's own item (w-bbfill-earth2-0926)
View the Source
East Kirkton Quarry (Wikipedia)
  • Caused By: Volcanism, Lead paragraph
    The site is dominated by volcanic tuff, limestone, and silica deposits of large freshwater lakes associated with hot springs and local basaltic (high-iron) volcanism.
  • Associated With: Carboniferous, Lead, age Carboniferous
    The quarry is known for terrestrial and freshwater animal fossils; the most fossil-rich layer is dated to around 341 ± 3 million years ago, during the Viséan stage of the Mississippian subperiod (Early Carboniferous Period).
  • Associated With: Tuff, Lead, rock Tuff
    The site is dominated by volcanic tuff, limestone, and silica deposits of large freshwater lakes associated with hot springs and local basaltic (high-iron) volcanism.
  • Associated With: Limestone, Lead, rock Limestone
    The site is dominated by volcanic tuff, limestone, and silica deposits of large freshwater lakes associated with hot springs and local basaltic (high-iron) volcanism.
  • In Discipline: Stratigraphy, Lead paragraph
    East Kirkton Quarry, or simply East Kirkton, is a former limestone quarry in West Lothian, Scotland, now a renowned fossil site.
  • In Group: Paleozoic Fossil Sites, Lead sentence
    The quarry is known for terrestrial and freshwater animal fossils; the most fossil-rich layer is dated to around 341 ± 3 million years ago, during the Viséan stage of the Mississippian subperiod (Early Carboniferous Period). The quarry is a 200-meter-long (~650 ft) depression located in the town of Bathgate.
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