Current Cross Bedding at The Roaches

Cross bedding can be a very useful paleoenvironment indicator as it requires a particular type of flow regime to form: too strong flow and you get erosion; too little and you get deposition; just the right amount and uyou get a mix of erosion and deposition which produces ripples, or dunes, and cross bedding.
So cross bedding tells us about the energy of the environment where it formed, biut it also tells us about the prevailing current direction which is important for understanding paleogeography, plate reconstructions and a wealth of other studies.

The gritstone at the Roaches has particularly clear cross bedding due to differential erosion of some of the beds where you can see the depositional and erosional surfaces and get a very clear estimate of the paleocurrent direction.

See also:
Trough cross bedding in Harrogate sandstone
   • Cross bedding in Harrogate Sandstone