Editing Sherwood Forest (section)

== Geology ==
Sherwood Forest is established over an area underlain by the [[Permian]] and [[Triassic]] age [[New Red Sandstone]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Reed |first=Michael |year=1990 |chapter=The land of Britain |title=The Landscape of Britain: From the Beginnings to 1914 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39848675 |page=11 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-01297-3 |oclc=39848675 |access-date=9 November 2021 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109184210/https://www.worldcat.org/title/landscape-of-britain-from-the-beginnings-to-1914/oclc/39848675 |url-status=live }}</ref> The larger part of the Forest is found across the outcrop of pebbly [[sandstone]]s known as the Chester Formation. The regional dip is a gentle one to the east, hence younger rocks are found in that direction and older ones exposed to the west. The local [[stratigraphy]] is (uppermost/youngest at top):

*[[Mercia Mudstone Group]]
**Tarporley Siltstone Formation ([[siltstone]]s, [[mudstone]]s and sandstones)
***including Retford Member (mudstones)
*[[Sherwood Sandstone Group]]
**Chester Formation (pebbly sandstones)
**Lenton Sandstone Formation
**Edlington Formation (mudstones and sandstones)<ref>{{cite web |title=GeoIndex Onshore |url=https://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/home.html |publisher=British Geological Survey |access-date=2 July 2020 |archive-date=2 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702100818/http://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/home.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The sandstone is an [[aquifer]] providing a local water supply. [[Quaternary]] deposits include river [[alluvium|sands and gravels]], river terrace deposits and some scattered mid-[[Pleistocene]] glacial [[till]]. There are 41 [[Regionally important geological site|local geodiversity sites]] within the Sherwood NCA; these are largely quarries and river sections.<ref>{{cite web |title=NCA profile 49. Sherwood |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/1401066?category=587130 |publisher=Natural England |access-date=2 July 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127063840/http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/1401066?category=587130 |url-status=live }}</ref>