Maplewell Group

Maplewell Group
Maplewell Group
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran
	Rocks of the Beacon Hill Formation outcropping at Beacon Hill, Leicestershire
Type	Group
Unit of	Charnian Supergroup
Sub-units	Hanging Rocks Formation; Bradgate Formation Hallgate Member; Sliding Stone Slump Breccia Member; ; Beacon Hill Formation Old John Member; Outwoods Member; Buck Hills Member; Sandhills Lodge Member; Beacon Tuffs Member; Charnwood Lodge Member; Benscliffe Member; ;
Underlies	Brand Group; Diorite unconformity ;
Overlies	Blackbrook Group
Thickness	1768 m (5,800 ft)
Lithology
Primary	volcaniclastic sandstone
Other	mudstone, breccia, siltstone, tuff, dacite, andesite
Location
Region	Leicestershire
Country	United Kingdom

The Maplewell Group is an Ediacaran lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) present in Leicestershire in the English Midlands. The strata are exposed in Charnwood Forest, west of Leicester. Besides a variety of volcaniclastic sandstones and mudstones, there are various breccias and tuffs. The tuffs which were laid down in water are fossiliferous; Charnia, Charniodiscus and Cyclomedusa, are all recorded from these rocks.

With the discovery of Teichichnus in the overlying Swithland Formation of the Brand Group, alongside several other ichnogenera, researchers were able to confidentially date the Brand Group to the Lower Cambrian, which has led to the research and discovery of a major hiatus and diorite intrusion between this group and the Brand Group. Using Zircon U-Pb dating, a date is returned of 603±2 Ma, suggesting the intrusion is Lower Edicaran in age. This also caused the Brand Group to be taken out of the Charnian Surpergroup, making the Maplewell Group the youngest group within said supergroup.