Chalk Group Lithostratigraphy: East Anglia - Weybourne Chalk

The stratotype section of the Weybourne Chalk is on the north Norfolk coast between Weybourne Hope [TG 1100 4370] and Old Butts Gap [TG 1236 4362], and at Weybourne Hope East [TG 12904360 - 1390 4350] (Pitchford, 1990a). The Weybourne Chalk is c. 22-25 m thick, and comprises flinty, soft, white chalk in the lower part, overlain by harder, nodular chalk, with regular flints and frequent oysters (Pitchford, 1990a). At Weybourne Hope East, the highest part of the Weybourne Chalk includes intercalated horizons of hard and soft, flinty chalk, and a pair of omission surfaces (Pitchford, 1990a). Three poorly delimited faunal belts are the basis for further subdivision (Weybourne₁ to Weybourne₃, in ascending stratigraphical order) the middle of these being oyster-rich (Wood, 1988). The base of the interval is either Flint X of Peake & Hancock (1970), or the underlying hardground (Wood, 1988; Pitchford, 1990b), and the top is the top of Hardground II of the Catton Sponge Bed (sensu Wood, 1988).

Macrofossil Biozonation: B. mucronata Zone

Correlation: see Correlation with other UK Chalk Group successions

References

PEAKE, N B & HANCOCK, J M. 1970. The Upper Cretaceous of Norfolk [reprinted with corrigenda and addenda] In LARWOOD, G P & FUNNELL, B M (eds.), The Geology of Norfolk. London & Ashford.

PITCHFORD, A J.1990a. A Summary of the stratigraphy of current exposures of Belemnitella mucronata Zone Chalk (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) in Norfolk. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Norfolk, Vol. 40, 3-24.

PITCHFORD, A J.1990b. A new correlation within the Belemnitella mucronata Zone (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) in Norfolk. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Norfolk, Vol. 40, 25-32.

WOOD, C J. 1988. The stratigraphy of the Chalk of Norwich. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Norfolk, No. 38, 3- 120.

See: Catton Sponge Bed, nodular chalk, flint, omission surface