The Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, England, is made from Portland stone

Portland stone is limestone from the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. It has been used extensively throughout the UK, notably in the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire. It is exported to many countries, for example the stone is used in the United Nations building in New York. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x2224, 498 KB) The Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, England, is made from Portland stone. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x2224, 498 KB) The Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, England, is made from Portland stone. ... The Cenotaph, London A ceremony at the Cenotaph, London, on Sunday 12th June 2005, remembering Irish war dead Memorial Cenotaph, Hiroshima, Japan A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. ... Whitehall, London, looking south towards the Houses of Parliament. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... The Jurassic Period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 200 Ma (million years ago), at the end of the Triassic to 146 Ma, at the beginning of the Cretaceous. ... A small cinder quarry A dimension stone quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. ... Chesil Beach from the hill above Fortuneswell, Portland Harbour is on the right. ... For other uses, see Dorset (disambiguation). ... Detail of painting from 1666 of the Great Fire of London by an unknown artist, depicting the fire as it would have appeared on the evening of Tuesday 4th September from a boat in the vicinity of Tower Wharf. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ...

All gravestones for British soldiers killed in the First and Second World Wars are made out of Portland stone.

Three main "Portland Beds" are quarried. The Base and Whitbed beds are fine textured and contain few fossil remains, and so are popular for high quality work. The Roach bed is rougher with many fossils and its stone is notably used in the Cobb, at nearby Lyme Regis, Dorset. An ammonite fossil Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally having been dug up) are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. ... Location within the British Isles The Cobb, with boats grounded in the harbour at low tide. ...

The Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust was formed in 1983. The Trust is dedicated to preserving a knowledge and understanding of stone and the landscape from which it comes.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Category:Portland stone

• List of stone
• Portland Admiralty Roach
• Portland Bowers Basebed
• Portland Bowers Lynham Whitbed
• Portland Bowers Saunders Whitbed
• Portland Grove Whitbed
• Portland Hard Blue
• Portland Independent Basebed
• Portland Independent Bottom Whitbed
• Portland Independent Top Whitbed
• Portland New Independent Whitbed
• Portland cement

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... This is intended as a list of, or links to, stone currently or historically produced in various countries (not generic types of stone). ... Portland Admiralty Roach is a kind of stone used to construct The Cobb, the well known seawall at Lyme Regis in Dorset. ... Portland Independent Top Whitbed is a kind of stone used to build The Ashton Memorial Lancaster. ... Sampling fast set Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general usage, as it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar and plaster. ...

External links

• Geology of the Jurassic Coast
• Portland fossils
• London buildings/stone