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Geology > Geological nature reserves
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Geological nature reserves
There are two geological nature reserves in Cornwall, St Erth Pits and Tresayes Quarry. There is a third with some geological interest, Churchtown Farm.
These are sites that have been acquired by the RIGS (Regionally Important Geological/Geomorphological Sites) Group through Cornwall Wildlife Trust and are important for geological and biological reasons. They illustrate the close links that exist between the geology of an area and its wildlife habitats. St Erth Pits St Erth Pits were originally worked for moulding sand and fossiliferous clay that are Pliocene in age, around 2 million years old. The St Erth site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). An information board about the site can be found on the wall of the Star Inn in the village of St Erth. Tresayes Quarry Tresayes Quarry, also known as ‘the Glass Mine’, is an old feldspar working in a pegmatite vein in the metamorphic aureole of the St Austell granite. The feldspar produced was used in the glass making industry.
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