Limestone and it history

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Limestone

The formation of limestone

Lime stone is a sedimentary rock made of dead animal shells formed deep down in the ocean; limestone also contains a large amount of calcium carbonate. Carboniferous limestone is a different type of limestone. It was formed around 350,000,000 years ago as a marine deposit in a warm, clear, shallow sea. The rock is well bedded and jointed. The cracks that separate the beds are called bedding planes and those that run down through the rock are called joints.

Chalk is also a type of soft porous white limestone. Chalk is found mostly in England, a good example of this is the white cliffs of Dover or the motorway cutting at Blue Bell Hill, in . 

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Erosion and weathering

Scree: lime stone tends to erode along the joints due to freeze thaw, this causes the parts to break off and fall to the bottom of the rock face to join the rest of the scree.

Terraces: Limestone terraces are exposed bedding planes. Terraces are formed when limestone is eroded along joints and bedding planes on the scarp slope. Blocks of limestone are removed leaving the terracing.

Limestone pavements: Where limestone outcrops at the top a hill, limestone pavements will form. The surface of the pavement is an exposed bedding ...

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