White Limestone Formation

The White Limestone Formation is a geological unit in central England composed of pale yellow limestone layers with varying grain structures. These deposits form visible outcrops at several locations and display the typical features of marine sediments from the Jurassic era.

This limestone formation developed in the Middle Jurassic period roughly 168 million years ago in a shallow sea and was deposited through biological and chemical processes. Since then it has remained an exposed window into the past, preserving fossils and traces of marine creatures.

The formation's quarries, including Shipton-on-Cherwell and Woodeaton, provide essential research sites for paleontologists studying Jurassic-era vertebrate remains.

The formation is accessible at several quarry sites, particularly near Oxford, where exposed surfaces clearly show the rock layers. Visitors should bring appropriate weather gear and note that some areas may have limited or irregular access.

Sites like Woodeaton Quarry have yielded remains of early mammals from the Jurassic period, creatures that rarely survived as stone records. These discoveries offer rare glimpses into mammal life during an era when dinosaurs still dominated the world.