Monday 15 April (Indoor Meeting): 'Geology of the Chiltern Hills; new data & new interpretations'. Speaker: Dr. Haydon Bailey (Geological Adviser, The Chiltern Society).
The Chiltern Hills are underlain by Chalk, predominantly lithostratigraphic units traditionally called the Lower and Middle Chalk (the latter now the lower part of the White Chalk Group) capped by the Top Rock - Chalk Rock complex. It is this series of chalk hardgrounds which effectively forms the spine of the Chiltern Escarpment. The Chalk dips gently into the London Basin, and the overlying basal Tertiary succession provides minor outliers around this northern rim of the basin. The other major geological event we have to recognise in this area is the re-routing of the Proto-Thames River during and following the Anglian glaciation, some 450,000 years ago. This created the landscape we currently see in much of the southern parts of the Chilterns. Geological mapping of the region by the BGS over the last ten years and ground investigations resulting from the ongoing construction of the HS2 High Speed rail link have greatly added to our knowledge of the regional geology. Add to this the recognition that subsurface movement of water through the chalk is far more prevalent than previously identified, then this means that we're still learning a whole load more about the geological development of the hills which form the northern margin of the London Basin.
Click here for a Google map of the location.