Category Archives: PEBBLES

Pebbles on Chesil Beach 4

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Pebbles on the beach

I love Chesil Beach. It’s so exhilarating. I love the pebbles, millions and millions of pebbles, different sizes of pebbles, different types of pebbles, the way they glisten wet after pounding by the waves, bank upon bank, terrace above terrace, the deafening roar of the pebbles as they are jostled and dragged on the water’s edge. I relive the experience every time I look back at my photographs. I’d like to share with you these pebble pictures from my last visit.

Click here for more Chesil Beach posts – or posts about Pebbles in Jessica’s Nature Blog.

Pebble with fossils in it.

Pebbles on beach

Orange and red pebbles on the beach

Different pebble types on Chesil Beach

Grey pebble with a bright red mark

Coloured and patterned pebbles on the beach

Micro-crystalline granite pebble on the beach

Pebbles with patterns on the beach

Dark grey glassy pebble with red and white lines

Coloured and patterned pebbles on the beach

Pale grey pebble with red veins

Pebbles on Chesil Beach

Patterned pebble on the beach

Pebbles on Chesil Beach

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An Iron Pan at Broughton

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Ironpan at Broughton - remnants of a ferruginous hardpan or iron pan on the beach at Broughton Bay, Gower, South Wales, probably resulting from the decomposition of a Holocene peat layer.

The remnants of an eroding ironpan or ferruginous hardpan, exposed on the shore at Broughton Bay, Gower, South Wales. This has probably been created by the decomposition of the overlying peat layer dating from the relatively recent Holocene period. It is in the peat that you can find the stumps of trees from a submerged forest.

See the related posts:

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford

Submerged Forest at Broughton Bay

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Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford

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Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (1) - View looking across to Llanmadoc Hill showing pebbles on the beach at Whiteford Sands, Gower, South Wales, some of which are covered with a rusty deposit thought to derive from the break up of an iron-pan associated with a Holocene peat layer.

Vast swathes of pebbles on the beach at Whiteford in Gower are coloured orange – or at least they were the last time I looked. (The beach sediments there are very mobile so it cannot be guaranteed that you will see exactly the same thing on each visit). These coloured pebbles are found in a band stretching from the base of the sand dunes at the eastern end of the beach towards the disused Victorian Whiteford Lighthouse.

The pebbles seem to be coated in rust rather than rusty because of their intrinsic composition. I guess the first couple of times that I noticed the orange pebbles I vaguely thought that they were stained by rust emanating from the decomposing remains of the old iron causeway that linked the lighthouse to the shore. You can often find pieces of the iron framework of the walkway – sometimes supports still in situ and other times single pieces of the structure lying free.

However, lately, I have been discovering more and more about the Quaternary geology of the Gower – a relatively recent geological period dating from about 2.5 million years ago to the present. This includes the Pleistocene with a variety of glacial, peri-glacial and inter-glacial deposits; and the recent Holocene (from 11,800 years ago) with peat and submerged forests, marsh, dune, beach and alluvial deposits. As I read more, I am gradually reaching something of an understanding about some of the natural phenomena that I observe and photograph on Gower beaches. So I now tentatively consider that the rusty pebbles are not related to the dilapidation of the old lighthouse but are the result of a much older natural geological process.

I have already mentioned in Jessica’s Nature Blog the remains of the submerged forest at Broughton Bay which lies to the west and adjacent to Whiteford Sands. These ancient tree trunks are embedded in peat deposits. While I was reading George (2008), I learnt that the peat decomposes to form a hard ferruginous layer called an iron-pan or hardpan. This has led me to wonder if the iron compounds that coat the pebbles at Whiteford are derived from an iron pan layer.

Supporting evidence for this idea comes from the presence of ancient tree trunks emerging from black peat deposits close to the rusty pebbles – similar to those stumps found at Broughton. The old waterlogged wood is also stained with rust – as you will see from the photographs below. Additionally, slightly higher on the beach, closer to the dunes, the shore is strewn with pebbles around which orange-coloured watery ‘tears’ rise to the surface and weep across the surface of the sand – making me think they might originate from a concealed ferruginous hardpan below.

Then again, I suppose the rust could come from buried decomposing munitions as the beach was used for firing practice in the Second World War!

Reference:

George, Gareth T. (2008) The Geology of South Wales – A Field Guide, G.T.George at gareth@geoserve.co.uk , ISBN 978-0-9559371-0-1, p 70.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (2) - View looking across to Llanmadoc Hill showing pebbles on the beach at Whiteford Sands, Gower, South Wales, some of which are covered with a rusty deposit thought to derive from the break up of an iron-pan associated with a Holocene peat layer.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (3) - Pebbles on the beach at Whiteford Sands, Gower, South Wales, some of which are covered with a rusty deposit thought to derive from the break up of an iron-pan associated with a Holocene peat layer.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (4) - Pebbles on the beach at Whiteford Sands, Gower, South Wales, some of which are covered with a rusty deposit thought to derive from the break up of an iron-pan associated with a Holocene peat layer.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (5) - View looking across towards Whiteford Lighthouse showing pebbles on the beach at Whiteford Sands, Gower, South Wales, some of which are covered with a rusty deposit thought to derive from the break up of an iron-pan associated with a Holocene peat layer. Ancient waterlogged wood from the submerged forest is also visible.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (6) - Ancient iron-stained log embedded in peat from a submerged post-glacial forest - associated with pebbles on the beach at Whiteford Sands, Gower, South Wales, some of which are also covered with a rusty deposit thought to derive from the break-up of an iron-pan associated with the disintegration of the Holocene peat layer.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (7) - Ancient iron-stained log embedded in peat from a submerged post-glacial forest - associated with pebbles on the beach at Whiteford Sands, Gower, South Wales, some of which are also covered with a rusty deposit thought to derive from the break-up of an iron-pan associated with the disintegration of the Holocene peat layer.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (8) - Pebbles scattered on the surface of the sand with 'tears' of rusty water, possibly rising from a buried Holocene iron-pan layer below the sand, weeping across the beach.

Rusty Pebbles at Whiteford (9) - Pebbles scattered on the surface of the sand with 'tears' of rusty water, possibly rising from a buried Holocene iron-pan layer below the sand, weeping across the beach.

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Triangular Beach Stones

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Triangular Beach Stone (1) - Natural triangular shape of a pebble or beach stone with a natural geometrical pattern.

Just a selection of naturally triangular-shaped pebbles or beach stones that I have found on the seashore at various times. Some of them have interesting natural patterns too. They remind me of the triangular boulders and patterns of cracks and crevices that I’ve seen in rock outcrops like the ledges at Kimmeridge in Dorset, and Spaniard Rocks at Rhossili on Gower.

See Kimmeridge Bay triangles

Also Limestone & lichens at Spaniard Rocks

Triangular Beach Stone (2) - Natural triangular shape of a pebble or beach stone with a natural geometrical pattern.

Triangular Beach Stone (3) - Natural triangular shape of a pebble or beach stone.

Triangular Beach Stone (4) - Natural triangular shape of a pebble or beach stone.

Triangular Beach Stone (5) - Natural triangular shape of two pebbles or beach stones with an oyster shell on the beach.

COPYRIGHT JESSICA WINDER 2013

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Underwater Pebbles

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Underwater Pebbles (1) - Pebbles viewed through shallow river water with patterns of reflected sunlight from the water ripples, photographed in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A. Pebbles viewed through shallow river water, with patterns of reflected sunlight – photographed on the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

Underwater Pebbles (2) - Pebbles viewed through shallow river water with patterns of reflected sunlight from the water ripples, photographed on the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

Underwater Pebbles (3) - Pebbles viewed through shallow river water with patterns of reflected sunlight from the water ripples, photographed on the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

Underwater Pebbles (4) - Pebbles viewed through shallow river water with patterns of reflected sunlight from the water ripples, photographed on the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

Underwater Pebbles (5) - Pebbles viewed through shallow river water with patterns of reflected sunlight from the water ripples, photographed on the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

Underwater Pebbles (6) - Pebbles viewed through shallow river water with patterns of reflected sunlight from the water ripples, photographed on the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

Underwater Pebbles (7) - The location where the pebbles were photographed in the river crossing the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

Underwater Pebbles (8) - The location where the pebbles were photographed in the river crossing the beach in Neptune State Park, south of Yachats, Oregon, U.S.A.

COPYRIGHT JESSICA WINDER 2012

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Trinity Beach-combings

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An assortment of seashells and pebbles from the strand-line at Trinity Beach, Queensland, Australia

COPYRIGHT JESSICA WINDER 2012

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Seven pink somethings from the seashore

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Seven pink somethings from the seashore – pink seashells, pink sandal, pink seaweed, pink ‘salute’, pink stone, pink sea thrift, and pink sand.

 

Revision of a post previously published 23 May 2010

COPYRIGHT JESSICA WINDER 2012

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White pebbles made of chalk

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White chalk pebbles from the Jurassic Coast in a blue bowl (1) 

White chalk pebbles from the Jurassic Coast in a blue bowl – looking a bit like mint imperial sweets. They are smooth, rounded, slightly flattened, frequently ovoid, porous, and have a matt surface.

Chalk is one of several rocks from which white pebbles are made. Chalk is a Cretaceous rock and outcrops in many places along the seashores of the Jurassic Coast. The photographs show some arrangements of these chalk pebbles; and also illustrate how they look on the beach when naturally occurring. In the shore pictures, they are mixed with mostly grey flint and yellow chert pebbles against which the white pebbles contrast and stand out. The pebbles are shown at various magnifications and in both the wet and dry condition.

Pebbles of white chalk with grey flint and yellow chert on a Jurassic Coast seashore (2) 

Pebbles of white chalk with grey flint and yellow chert on a Jurassic Coast seashore. 

Wet pebbles of white chalk with grey flint and yellow chert on a Jurassic Coast beach (3)

Wet pebbles of white chalk, grey flint, and yellow chert on a Jurassic Coast seashore (4)

Dry pebbles of white chalk, grey flint, and yellow chert on a Jurassic Coast beach (5)

Dry pebbles of white chalk, grey flint and yellow chert on a Jurassic Coast beach (6)

An arrangement of white chalk pebbles (7) 

Revision of a post first published 17 July 2009

COPYRIGHT JESSICA WINDER 2011

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A basket of Jurassic pebbles with white lines

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A basket of pebbles with patterns of white lines, from the Jurassic Coast, Dorset, UK (1)

People like pebbles. I don’t know why. For different people at different times the reason may change. They can be beautiful, interesting, evocative, souvenirs. They come in a handy size for picking up and pocketing. They can be reminders of happy times in the relatively recent past as well as representatives of the geological past. They can also symbolise survival, endurance, resistance, resiliance. They are the end products of years of shaping by massive external events and processes. They encapsulate and demonstrate their history in the way they look today. Pebbles are beguiling.

Click here for more pictures of PEBBLES in Jessica’s Nature Blog.

A pebble with white lines from the Jurassic Coast, Dorset, UK (2)

A pebble with a pattern of white lines from the Jurassic Coast, Dorset, UK (3)

A pebble with a pattern of white lines from the Jurassic Coast, Dorset, UK (4)

A pebble with a pattern of white lines from the Jurassic Coast, Dorset, UK (5)

A basket of pebbles with white lines from the Jurassic Coast, UK (6) 

Revision of a post first published 15 February 2010

COPYRIGHT JESSICA WINDER 2011

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