Commune: Rydułtowy (pow. wodzisławski, woj. śląskie)
Framework element or context represented:
Upper Carboniferous lithostratigraphy.
Primary geological/geomorphological interest:
The profile of Upper Carboniferous sandstones of Paralic Series in Upper Silesian Coal Basin.
Comparative assessment justification:
Sandstones croping out in Rydułtowy are important as deposits representing the transition from paralic to continental sediments at the boundary between Namurian A and Namurian B-C in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. An unique site of top part deposits of Namurian Paralic Series accessible on the surface in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin.
Protection status and accessibility:
Documentary site protected by Rydułtowy town administration. The site is accessible but the vegetation covers same fragments of the wall.
Character of site: Old quarry along the steep slope.
Area: ca. 0.4 ha
Altitude: 270 m a.s.l.
Lithology: sandstones, silstones, claystones
Discipline: Palaeobiology, Stratigraphy of Phanerozoic
Process Age: *all periods
Bedrock Age: Carboniferous, *all periods
Description of primary interest:
The outcrop spreads about 80 m long the foot of the slope, is up to 8 m high. It is artificial outcrop dated from the interwar period but in the present state transformed by the impact of weathering. Medium and fine-grained sandstones are the dominant element of the profile representing the highest part of Paralic Series (Namurian A) in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Sandstones beds intercalated by thin layers of siltstones crop out in the top part of the wall. The cross-bedding of sediment is well visible on the surface of outcrop. Sandstones abound in plant detritus. In the lowermost part of the profile conglomerate sandstones with numerous print of remain Lepidodendrons and Calamites probably occur but blocks and small rocky fragments cover them.
Literature:
JURECZKA J. 1998–Geological significance of the Poruba Beds Sandstone outcrops in the vicinity of the Rudułtowy village (English sum.). XXI Symposium Geology of coal-bearing strata of Poland. Proceedings: 11-14. Cracow. JURECZKA J. 2001–Outcrops in the geodiversity conservation concept of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin- southern Poland (English sum.). Przegląd Geol. 49, 11: 1101-1106.