2010

NZ0964 : The white cliffs of Tynedale

taken 14 years ago, near to Prudhoe, Northumberland, England

The white cliffs of Tynedale
The white cliffs of Tynedale
Although geology left no chalk rocks in Northumberland, strangely the county does have one area of chalk grassland, the Spetchells.
Spetchells, is an old name of uncertain origin, originally applied to the area of rough grassland and scrub along the south bank of the River Tyne near Prudhoe which was traditionally used for recreation. According to Northumberland Words by Richard Oliver Heslop (1894), a spetchel or spatchel was the thin layer of turf laid between horizontal rows of stones used in building a wall ('a stone and spetchel dike').
The name is now associated with the 1km long mound of calcium carbonate dumped between the River Tyne and the railway as industrial waste by ICI as the result of manufacturing ammonium sulphate for fertiliser and explosives during World War II. The plant closed in 1963. The process involved using calcium sulphate obtained from powdered natural gypsum, or anhydrite, added to a solution of ammonium carbonate. Calcium carbonate precipitates out from the reaction LinkExternal link
The Spetchells are estimated to comprise two and a half million tons of this chalk. The dump was turfed over to make it less obvious to German bombers. Ash and sycamore trees were planted on the slopes, and hornbeams on the top, in an attempt to stabilise the mounds. The Spetchells now support plants typical of the ungrazed chalk grasslands of southern England, and a specialised chalk-loving fauna has also arrived, including rare butterflies and moths.
LinkExternal link

LinkExternal link Archive LinkExternal link

LinkExternal link Archive LinkExternal link

See other images of The Spetchells

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Andrew Curtis and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Category: Rock Feature > Crags
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
NZ0964, 33 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Andrew Curtis   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 29 August, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 29 August, 2010
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 0985 6411 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:58.2908N 1:50.8598W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NZ 0988 6411
View Direction
WEST (about 270 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Geograph
This page has been viewed about 226 times
You are not logged in login | register