Coal Measures of the Pennine Basin

Abstract

This chapter covers the classic areas of Coal Measures of the Lancashire, Yorkshire and East Midlands coalfields (Figure 10.1). They are the thickest and most fully developed coalfields north of the Wales-Brabant Barrier, with up to 2000 m of Westphalian strata being present. They have also yielded abundant and diverse assemblages of non-marine bivalves (e.g. Eagar, 1946, 1947, 1951, 1952b, 1956), marine band faunas (e.g. Calver, 1968) and plant microfossils (e.g. Smith and Butterworth, 1967). The main drawback from a field geology standpoint is the very poor exposure, due to a combination of thick glacial deposits, and the extensive urbanization of the area. Despite this, the area has played a central role in the study of the Westphalian of Britain, and is generally regarded as the type-area for the Coal Measures Group.