Quaternary deposits and landforms

Great Standrop © BGSThe Quaternary Period spans the last 2 million years, a time dominated by a succession of ‘ice ages’. The process of glaciation, the scouring of uplands by flowing ice, and the subsequent transport of material by ice and meltwater flow into lowland and offshore areas, produced distinctive sediments and landforms. During the Holocene Epoch (the last 11 000 years), following the decline of the ice, the landscape has been dominated by less dramatic processes. Holocene sediments in Britain include peat and alluvium, both of which give vital information regarding the climate and environment since deglaciation.

The study of Quaternary deposits and landforms enables links to be made between the behaviour of ice-sheet systems across continental-scale areas, and the mechanisms and processes of climatic and oceanic change.

Quaternary deposits and landforms in the district

Throughout much of the Devensian glaciation large areas of Northumberland lay beneath fast-moving, dynamic parts of the British ice-sheet. The effects of warm-based ice streams can be seen in the landscape surrounding the Cheviot massif, in the Tweed Basin and Tyne Gap, where they have effectively moulded and streamlined the land.

However, the Cheviot massif appears to have deflected much of the streaming ice around it to the north and south, remaining relatively unaltered. In the lee of the massif lay an area of slower-moving ice, and during deglaciation this difference in velocity had a significant influence on the resulting landscape character.