Coal, ironstone, limestone, fireclay, brick clay and building stones have all been exploited in the area in the last few centuries.

[2] The oldest rocks which outcrop at the surface within the Geopark are the early Silurian shales and limestones which are seen in a series of faulted and folded inliers between Lye in the south and Ettingshall Park in the north.

The youngest three of the Silurian formations dates from the Pridoli epoch (423-419 Ma), towards the end of the period, and are regarded as the lowest/earliest part of the Old Red Sandstone succession in this region.

The Clee Sandstone Formation, which outcrops to the west and northwest of Sedgeley, originates in the Devonian period and is of Emsian age (c.408-393 Ma).

As such it encompasses a wider area than the traditional Black Country, though the boundaries of this distinctive historic urban landscape within the West Midlands are difficult to pin down firmly.

The area drains to the River Stour to the west, the Penk to the north and eventually to the Tame to the east via numerous tributaries.