Middleton Quarry

Middleton Quarry
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Country	England
Region	North East
District	Teesdale

Location	NY948245
- coordinates	GB-ENG 54°36′58″N 2°4′53″W / 54.61611°N 2.08139°W / 54.61611; -2.08139Coordinates: GB-ENG 54°36′58″N 2°4′53″W / 54.61611°N 2.08139°W / 54.61611; -2.08139

Area	6.0 ha (14.8 acres)

Notification	1964
Management	Natural England

Area of Search	County Durham
Interest	Biological

Location of Middleton Quarry SSSI, Co Durham
Website: Map of site

Middleton Quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of west County Durham, England. It is a disused quarry, from which Whin Sill stone was formerly excavated. It lies just south of the River Tees, opposite the village of Middleton-in-Teesdale on the river's northern bank.

Since mineral working ceased, the quarry has been re-colonised by a variety of vegetation types. On the quarry floor, natural seepage has given rise to areas of open water, which grade into a variety of soligenous mire and fen vegetation types.

Where a skeletal soil layer has developed on the quarry floor and spoil heaps, patches of grassland occur, with species characteristic of base-rich soils, such as quaking grass, Briza media, and limestone bedstraw, Galium sterneri. On shallow slopes, this gives way to a neutral grassland characterised by false oat-grass, Arrhenatherum elatius, and Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus. Above the quarry, this is replaced by acid grassland, in which wavy hair-grass, Deschampsia flexuosa, is dominant.^[1]

The quarry supports a moth fauna which includes at least two species, the northern rustic, Standfussiana lucernea, and the anomalous wainscot, Stilbia anomala, that are rare in north-east England.

References

↑ "Middleton Quarry" (PDF). English Nature. 1986. Retrieved 27 July 2010.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham

Backstone Bank and Baal Hill Woods Baldersdale Woodlands Bishop Middleham Quarry Bollihope, Pikestone, Eggleston and Woodland Fells Botany Hill Bowes Moor Bowlees and Friar House Meadows Brasside Pond Brignall Banks Burnhope Burn Butterby Oxbow Cassop Vale Castle Eden Dene Causey Bank Mires Charity Land Close House Mine Cornriggs Meadows Cotherstone Moor Crag Gill Crime Rigg and Sherburn Hill Quarries Dabble Bank Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine Durham Coast Fairy Holes Cave Far High House Meadows Fishburn Grassland Foster's Hush Frog Wood Bog God's Bridge Grains o' th' Beck Meadows Green Croft and Langley Moor Greenfoot Quarry Hannah's Meadows Hawthorn Dene Hawthorn Quarry Hell Kettles Hesledon Moor East Hesledon Moor West Hexhamshire Moors Hisehope Burn Valley Hulam Fen Hunder Beck Juniper Kilmond Scar Low Redford Meadows Lune Forest Mere Beck Meadows Middle Crossthwaite Middle Side and Stonygill Meadows Middleton Quarry Middridge Quarry Moorhouse and Cross Fell Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor Neasham Fen Newton Ketton Meadow Old Moss Lead Vein Park End Wood Pig Hill Pike Whin Bog Pittington Hill Pow Hill Bog Quarrington Hill Grasslands Railway Stell West Raisby Hill Grassland Raisby Hill Quarry Redcar Field Rigg Farm and Stake Hill Meadows Rogerley Quarry Sherburn Hill Shipley and Great Woods Sleightholme Beck Gorge - The Troughs Slit Woods Stony Cut, Cold Hesledon Teesdale Allotments The Bottoms The Carrs Thrislington Plantation Town Kelloe Bank Trimdon Limestone Quarry Tuthill Quarry Upper Teesdale Waldridge Fell West Newlandside Meadows West Park Meadows West Rigg Open Cutting Westernhope Burn Wood Wingate Quarry Witton-le-Wear Yoden Village Quarry

Neighbouring areas Cleveland Northumberland Tyne and Wear

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