Devon County Geological Site Site reference no. PSX927663 Name: Petit Tor - Maidencombe (a) District: Torbay Parish: National grid ref: SX927663 OS sheets: 1:50k 1:25k 1:10k SX927663 GS 1:50k GridRef x y Lat Long SX927663 292700 66300 50.486656 -3.5138692 Locality description (address): Petit Tor Quarry and adjacent coastal exposure. Nature of site: Proposed RIG Site: Quarry & Coastal. Geological / geomorphological features: The site includes the disused Petit Tor Quarry and adjacent coastal exposures dominated by pale stromatoporoid-rich limestones of the Walls Hill Member of the Torquay Limestone Formation (Givetian), overlain to the north by reddish shales of the Saltern Cove Formation (Frasnian). The limestones also yield a scattered fauna of rugose and tabulate corals and a middle varcus Biozone conodont fauna, have solution cavities in their upper surface which occasionally contain pale-pink flinty or slaty limestones or slates. The latter have been interpreted as an Upper Devonian infill and have been reported to have formerly yielded orthocone cephalopods. The overlying mudstones of the Saltern Cove Formation show deformation but apparently include a basal red nodular limestone level with Frasnian conodonts and very rare ammonoids; they are, in turn overlain, unconformably, by a limestone breccia at the base of the Watcombe Formation, the Petit Tor Member. Reasons for registration as a County Geological Site: The Petit Tor area shows the final stages of evolution of the Middle Devonian “Torquay High”, with the apparent development of palaeo-karstic surfaces at the top of the Torquay Limestone Formation infilled with Frasnian sediments. Stratigraphic evidence also supports an intra-Devonian non-sequence, with the Barton Member being absent and the Saltern Cove Formation apparently resting directly on the Walls Hill Member of the Torquay Limestone Formation. The area is of potential educational value. Site sensitivity: Safety: Accessible. Interest groups: Schools. Years 5-11: Years 12-16: Years 17-18. University. Undergraduate - Research Professional geologists - Amateur geologists - General public. Access and Parking: Date of assessment (V = visited) : V Site owner : References: .