The "New Red Sandstone" is a geological term used to describe the rich red coloured rocks deposited in the desert environment around the equator of the Pangaea super-continent during the late Permian and early Triassic (Not to be confused with the Old Red Sandstone which is largely Devonian in age).
The formation comprises of sandstone, interbedded with mudstone and evaporite minerals. The sandstone consists almost entirely of quartz grains cememented with an iron oxide cement. The "New Red Sandstone" outcrops across most of central England, with notable locations being Dawlish in Devon, the Cheshire basin (where it is up to 1100m thick) and central Yorkshire.
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Old Man of Hoy, north-west coast of Hoy. Orkney. A close-up view of the 137 m. sea stack composed of red sandstone of Upper Old Red Sandstone age. The stack rests on the eroded top of Upper Old Red Sandstone basalt lava which unconformably sits on flagstones of Middle Old Red Sandstone age.
Sea stacks are produced by the combined action of marine and subaerial erosion, their bases may be completely submerged or just above sea level.
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| New Red Sandstone Ladram Bay |
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| New Red Sandstone Ladram Bay |