Founded 1858 | Promoting public interest in geology and advancing geological knowledge
Founded 1858
Beecraigs visitor centre (dyke and Carboniferous Limestone); Cairnpapple Hill and the Knock (lavas, sill, limestone and mineralization) via Witch Craig geology wall; Petershill Reserve (fossiliferous reef limestone); East Kirkton quarry (time permitting) (oil shales and limestones).
Devonian lavas and sedimentary rocks; Highland Border Complex (with superb pillow lavas); Highland Boundary Fault; ORS/Dalradian unconformity; Dalradian structure and metamorphism; Caledonian and post-Caledonian granites, gabbros, migmatites, dykes and breccia pipes.
1800 Ma gneiss, Precambrian metasediments and fossil stromatolites, the famous Port Askaig Tillite (possible "Snowball Earth"?), low grade metamorphic Dalradian rocks retaining original sedimentary structures, reactivated and reversed extensional faults, substantial mineralisation, 60 Ma igneous intrusions (opening of the Atlantic Ocean) and a large selection of Quaternary Ice Age features.
The Scottish Shale Oil Museum at Almond Valley; local mining bings; the Scottish National Mining Museum at Newton Grange Colliery. Multiple opportunities for coffee and cake!
Blairskaith Quarry is a brick-clay pit abandoned since the late 1970s. It is significant for both its abundant extinct fossils and habitats supporting a variety of plant and animal life, with large shallow pools of water that last throughout the year and some well-drained lime-rich soils.
Sedimentary rocks of greywacke and siltstone formed between 460 and 410 million years ago and hard volcanic rock which formed around 400 million years ago. The different types of rock account for the contrast in colour and morphology between the rocks of the Head and those of mainland cliffs.
The Ballantrae region is of international importance because of the presence there of the Ballantrae Complex, an association of serpentenite, chert and pillow lavas that represents an ophiolite. We will visit some of the interesting geological localities in this area.
A walk of about 2.5 km up the Glenderaterra valley from the car park at the Blencathra Field Centre with 4-6 stops along the path, returning the same way. The main theme is contact metamorphism and mineralisation in the Skiddaw Slate around the Skiddaw Granite. Evening meal in Threlkeld.
Anglesey's rocks provide a detailed record of the events leading to the formation of southern Britain. Formed between 650 & 300 Ma, they include high grade gneisses, a granite pluton, metasediments, sandstones, mudstones and the famous Anglesey Blueschists. There are also Paleogene dykes, abundant glacial features, a number of NE–SW faults and large sandstones blocks possibly marking the location of an ancient subduction zone.
