Arkley, S. L. B., Browne, M. A. E., Albornoz-Parra, L. J. and Barron, H. F. 2011. East Dumbartonshire Geodiversity Audit. British Geological Survey Open Report, OR/09/19. 265pp.
EDC 31: Wilderness Plantation
Grid reference:
Site type: Artificial quarry works
Site ownership: Not known
Current use: Disused
Field surveyor: Sarah Arkley & Mike Browne
Current geological designations: None
Date visited: 6th April 2009
Site map
Summary description
Disused sand and gravel quarry and completed landfill site.
Type locality of the Wilderness Till Formation, overlying older sand and gravel deposits of the Cadder Sand and Gravel Formation from which a radiocarbon dated (27 550 years Before Present) woolly rhinoceros humerus bone was found in 1963 close to Balmuildy Road.
After some searching the type exposure was relocated, although largely degraded and overgrown, the critical contact with the underlying sand and gravels is now obscured but can be re-exposed.
Exposures of till found at the top of the degraded face are hard reddish brown, generally fine-grained with scattered boulders and other smaller clasts. There are no sedimentary structures in the till, but a fabric (glaciotectonic) is observed.
Samples of the underlying sands are visible towards the edge of the face where rabbits have exploited them for burrows.
EDC 31: Stratigraphy and rock types
Age: Quaternary Formation: Wilderness Till Formation
Rock type: Glacial deposits: diamicton
Age: Quaternary Formation: Cadder Sand and Gravel Formation
Rock type: Sand and Gravel
Assessment of site value
Access and safety
Aspect/Description
Road access and parking Parking possible for a few cars by the side of the bonded warehouses south of the site
Safety of access A track heads northwards towards the River Kelvin from where the sections can be accessed.
Safety of exposure Exposures are only visible in the upper quarter of the face; the rest has been covered by fallen material and forms a steep slippery slope. The area at the base of the sections is very wet and smells, it is likely a contaminated site, a deep green pool sits at the bottom of part of the section.
Permission to visit No permission sought
Current condition Possible contaminated site
Current conflicting activities None known
Restricting conditions Smell
Nature of exposure Degraded quarry face
Culture, heritage & economic
Historic, archaeological & literary associations. Rating: 0.
Aesthetic landscape Landscaped landfill site, view across the Kelvin valley. Rating: 2.
History of earth sciences None known. Rating: 0.
Economic geology Site was worked for sand and gravel for decades. Rating: 5.
EDC 31: Geoscientific merit
Total Geoscientific merit score 32
Current site value
Community. Rating: 5.
Education. Rating: 6.
Fragility and potential use of the site
Fragility Weathering/Erosion, Natural overgrowing, Dumping
Potential use Research, Higher/Further Education, School
Geodiversity value
This site is the type locality for the Wilderness Till Formation, a glacial deposit which stretches across much of Central Scotland. Glaciotectonic structures at and around the contact between the till and the underlying sand and gravel worthy of re-excavation and academic research. As a site with a dated woolly rhinoceros bone it is also important in the understanding of Quaternary ice age events in central Scotland Rating: 6