"Turtle-shell" impressions
Hummocky cross-stratification at Balintore, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland
Annette McKee discovered these strange structures
on the rocky foreshore at Balintore near Inverness. Understandably
they were thought to be the impressions of the shells of turtles due to
their size, shape, and texture. The texture is due to small ripples
on the surface of the structures and the shape and size of the structures
are due to erosion of the sediments. They appear to represent an
eroded, and weathered, surface of hummocky cross-stratification.
The weathering has continued into the swale to expose the rippled surface.
The hummocks have been eroded flat either by penecontemporaneous erosion,
or by more recent erosion. The former seems more likely.
(Click on image to get more detailed image of structures)
The swale can be seen cutting into the lower strata
where the rock has fractured across the swale.
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Clark
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