Geology Site Account

Summary

Site of geological interest but no significant geological exposures. Publicly accessible woodland with disused gravel pits. Any significant excavations in the wood should be recorded.

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Site description

Gravel Wood is so named because it contains shallow former gravel pits which are now ponds. The gravel is probably Wivenhoe Gravel (deposited on the northern bank of the Wivenhoe Gravel Thames). The gravel is currently only visible with difficulty in the stream that runs through the wood. The gravel is overlain by a layer of 'cover loam', a sandy, silty clay that covers much of the Tendring peninsula. This cover loam (loess?) is readily visible in the rootplates of fallen trees.

The wood is owned by Essex County Council and is actively managed as a coppice woodland. It is publicly accessible.