Bringelly Shale

Bringelly Shale
Stratigraphic range:
Exposed Bringelly Shale at Greystanes, Australia (Prospect Hill)
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofWiannamatta group
UnderliesAshfield Shale
OverliesHawkesbury sandstone, Minchinbury Sandstone
Thicknessup to 60 metres (200 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryShale
OtherSandstone
Location
LocationWestern Sydney
RegionLGAs of Liverpool, Penrith and Fairfield
CountryAustralia
Type section
Named forBringelly

Bringelly Shale is a component of the Wianamatta group of sedimentary rocks in the Sydney Basin of eastern Australia. Formed in the Middle Triassic Period, it has an extensive outcrop in the western parts of Sydney and occupies around one third of the Sydney sheet.

Occupying much of the Cumberland Plain, the shale has its greatest geographical extent at Bringelly (its namesake), near the suburb of Liverpool. Featuring sandstone lentils, it is the topmost layer of the Wianamatta Group and the youngest Triassic sedimentary rock unit in the Sydney Basin.