Dungy Head

Dungy Head is the best place to see the Portland strata. The lowest part, the Portland Sand can be seen at the base of the cliffs, round the corner to the east of Dungy Head. It is an interesting place and some ammonites can be found. The Portland Stone (or Winspit Member) is mostly an oolite or ooid grainstone at Dungy Head becoming an ooid packstone east of Lulworth Cove (Townson, 1975). The Portland Cherty Series is well seen at Dungy Head and both the upper part or Dancing Ledge Member of Townson (1975) and the lower part, the Dungy Head Member, contains much sponge spicule (Rhaxella ) wackestone, the silica from which has given rise to the chert. Most of the chert is early, as is usually the case; some is late and related to faulting. The conspicuous thin marker bed know as Puffin Ledge (Puffins used to nest on in the Isle of Purbeck) is easily recognised as a thin bed in the middle and is usually characterised by Thallassinoides burrows. Giant ammonites, Titanites occur at about this level. Fine grained dolomites known as the Black Sandstones and part of the Gad Cliff Member. These contain the ammonite Glaucolithites.

References: 1. Dr Ian West, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Southampton University, Southampton Oceanography Centre, http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/dungy.htm
Picture © 2005 onwards by Dr Sanjukta Acharya. All the photographs in this blog are copyright protected and can not be reproduced or stored in any medium without the written permission from Dr Himanshu Tyagi.