THE MARKET WEIGHTON STRUCTURE: TECTONICS, SEDIMENTATION AND DIAGENESIS DURING THE CRETACEOUS

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Abstract
Summary: Published evidence and a detailed study of seven sections have demonstrated that during Cretaceous times the Market Weighton Structure was well-defined and played a prominent role in the sedimentation, preservation and diagenesis of the Lower and mid-Cretaceous rocks of east Yorkshire. It is suggested that the northern margin of the structure is the eastward extension of the Gilling Fault. Movement on this fault of some hundreds of metres, throwing down to the north, occurred during the Lower Cretaceous and allowed the deposition and preservation of the Speeton Clay. Earth tremors, associated with this movement, were probably responsible for the characteristic structures in the Breccia-Nodule Band in the Red Chalk at Speeton. Limited post-Cretaceous movement along the same fault is responsible for the Contortion Zone running east-west across the Chalk of the Yorkshire Wolds. The southern margin of the structure is well defined and is situated between Market Weighton and South Cave; it may have also been fault-controlled at depth, but it played only a minor role in controlling Lower and mid-Cretaceous sedimentation.

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