Limestone Pavement

by StAmbroseBarlowRC1

Clints are the flat surfaced blocks of rock found within the pavement. Each block of limestone resists weathering as it is a hard impermeable rock without lines of weakness (fault lines). In contrast grykes are the vertical gaps between blocks of rock. Water flowing over the surface (or rainwater) dissolves the limestone (calcium carbonate) along the vertical lines of weakness called faults to form these gaps. Mini ecosystems form within these grykes which can thus be further enlarged by biological weathering.