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Tour of Snowball Earth – Islay

Start:
21 Oct 2017 @ 9:00 am
End:
22 Oct 2017 @ 5:00 pm
Event Category:
Location:

This two day excursion will be led by society member David Webster. The planned itinerary is as follows.

Day 1. A guided tour of two key localities (Beannan Dubh near Ballygrant and Fionn Phort near Port Askaig) illustrating the 650 million year old glaciation that probably covered the whole world at that time (“Snowball Earth”). The aim is to demonstrate the transition into the snowball event (Lossit Limestone) and review the sedimentology of the glacial deposits (Port Askaig Tillite).

Day 2. A full day visit to the remote north coast of Islay to view the classic stromatolite bioherms in the Bonahaven Dolomite plus some spectacular igneous intrusions and glacial features. A less strenuous alternative to Caol Isla and Bunnahabhain will be offered if group fitness & weather dictate. It may be possible to charter a local boat to return walkers from Rhuval lighthouse. This would save the 2-hour return walk but will be chargeable at cost and is dependent on weather, tide and boatman availability.

This event is part of Scotland’s first national Geoheritage Festival, which runs from 1-31 October 2017. The full programme for the festival can be found here.

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