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Coordinates: 51°59′58″N 1°25′16″E

Red Crag Formation

The Red Crag Formation is a geological formation in
Red Crag Formation
England. It outcrops in south-eastern Suffolk and north-
eastern Essex. The name derives from its iron-stained Stratigraphic range:
reddish colour and crag which is an East Anglian word for Late Pliocene - Early Pleistocene
shells. It is part of the Crag Group, a series of notably marine ~
strata which belong to a period when Britain was connected
to continental Europe by the Weald–Artois Anticline, and the
area in which the Crag Group was deposited was a tidally
dominated marine bay.[1] This bay would have been
subjected to enlargement and contraction brought about by
transgressions and regressions driven by the 40,000-year
Milankovitch cycles.

The sediment in the outcrops mainly consists of coarse-

grained and shelly sands that were deposited in sand waves
(megaripples) that migrated parallel to the shore in a south- Red Crag at Bawdsey Cliff in Suffolk
westward direction.[2] The most common fossils are bivalves Type Geological formation
and gastropods[3] that were often worn by the abrasive
Unit of Crag Group
environment.[1] The most extensive exposure is found at
Bawdsey Cliff, which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Sub-units Sizewell Member
Interest (SSSI);[4] here a width of around 2 kilometres Underlies Norwich Crag Formation
(1.2  mi) of Crag is exposed. At the coastline by Walton-on-
Overlies Coralline Crag Formation
the-Naze, remains of megalodon were found.[5]
Thickness up to 20 metres (70 ft),
The Red Crag Formation at depth in eastern Suffolk clearly locally up to 45 m,
has one member, the Sizewell Member, a coarse shelly sand offshore up to 70 m
with thin beds of clay and silt.[6] It was interpreted as having Lithology
been deposited in large scale sand waves where the sea bed
was deeper. The overlying Thorpeness Member, was Primary Sand
provisionally assigned to the Red Crag based on its lithology Location
but there is more evidence to suggest that it is part of the
Region Europe
Norwich Crag Formation.
Country  England
It has been proposed that the Red Crag started in the late
Pliocene and to have possibly extended up into the early Pleistocene, but there is disagreement on
more precise dating. According to the British Geological Survey,[7] the Red Crag sits within a
segment of time from about 3.3 to 2.5 mya. It is considered that the Red Crag at Walton-on-the–
Naze is the oldest and that it was deposited in only a few decades at some time between 2.9 and 2.6
mya.[8] This has led to the UK stratigraphic stage name Waltonian, which is usually correlated
with the final Pliocene Reuverian Stage in the Netherlands.[9] There are difficulties in reconciling
how the Red Crag equates with international chronological stages. In particular, the start and end
dates are poorly defined due to the general paucity of age-diagnostic stratigraphic indicators and
the fragmentary nature of the geology. It can also be difficult to separate the Red Crag from the
overlying Norwich Crag Formation.

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Geological map of the Crag Deposits. Fossils from the Red Crag. From
From Chatwin (1954).[10] Chatwin (1954).[10]

Shark tooth fossil from the Red Crag at

Felixstowe in Suffolk

References
1. Lee, Woods & Moorlock (2015), pp. 110–111.
2. Dixon, R. G. (1979). "Sedimentary facies in Red Crag (Lower Pleistocene, East Anglia)".
Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 90 (3): 117–132. doi:10.1016/s0016-
7878(79)80014-0 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fs0016-7878%2879%2980014-0).
3. Dixon, R. G. (1977). Studies in mollusca of the Red Crag (Pleistocene, East Anglia) (http://etho
s.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.453719) (PhD). University of London. Retrieved
18 April 2018 – via British Library.
4. "Designated Sites: Bawdsey Cliff" (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsforWeb/
Citation/1002355.pdf) (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
5. UK Fossils - Walton on the Naze (https://ukfossils.co.uk/2007/06/07/walton-on-the-naze/)
6. Zalasiewicz, J. A.; Mathers, S. J.; Hughes, M. J.; Gibbard, P. L.; Peglar, S. M.; Harland, R.;
Nicholson, R. A.; Boulton, G. S.; Cambridge, P.; Wealthall, G. P. (19 December 1988).
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"Stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments of the Red Crag and Norwich Crag formations between
Aldeburgh and Sizewell, Suffolk, England" (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frstb.1988.0125).
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 322 (1210): 221–272.
doi:10.1098/rstb.1988.0125 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frstb.1988.0125).
7. Lee, Woods & Moorlock (2015), pp. 92–93.
8. Head, M. J. (1998). "Pollen and dinoflagellates from the Red Crag at Walton on the Naze,
Essex". Geological Magazine. 135: 803–817. doi:10.1017/S0016756898001745 (https://doi.or
g/10.1017%2FS0016756898001745).
9. "Global Chronostratigraphical Correlation Table for the Last 2.7 Million Years" (http://quaternar
y.stratigraphy.org/correlation/POSTERSTRAT_v2011.pdf.20110222-162627). Subcommission
on Quaternary Stratigraphy. University of Cambridge. 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
10. Chatwin, C.P. (1954). East Anglia and adjoining areas (https://archive.org/details/EastAngliaBrit
ishRegionalGeology3rdEdnImages). British Regional Geology (3rd ed.). London: Her Majesty's
Stationery Office.

Bibliography
Lee, J. R.; Woods, M. A.; Moorlock, B. S. P., eds. (2015). British Regional Geology: East Anglia
(5th ed.). British Geological Survey. ISBN 978-0-85272-823-9.

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