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Tour of Snowball Earth – Islay

A guided tour of two key localities illustrating the 650 million year old "Snowball Earth" glaciation and 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

Raasay, Inner Hebrides

We will examine a range of rocks within the Hebridean Terrane, ranging from Archaean gneisses of the Lewisian Complex and the overlying Proterozoic sedimentary rocks of the Torridonian Supergroup through to glacial deposits of the Pleistocene epoch.

Muirshiel Country Park

We will be looking at several sites around the park, including the area around the now disused barite mine, and considering aspects of our industrial geological heritage.

Glen Lednock

We will continue our exploration of Glen Lednock and will visit the Comrie pluton to examine the igneous rocks themselves and their contact relations with the country rocks.

Perth & environs

We will examine Devonian volcanic and sedimentary rocks (perhaps including the source of the Stone of Destiny) and look at a variety of building stones in Perth City.

Spireslack Quarry

The opencast coal site at Spireslack in East Ayrshire delivers a unique and stunning geological exposure of the Carboniferous. BGS is working closely with the Scottish Mines Restoration Trust to find ways of restoring the site to deliver a unique, natural rock laboratory for industry and university training and research.

Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre

This tour will take you behind the scenes of extremely rare isotope metrology at SUERC to illustrate the complexity and effort involved in making precise and accurate measurement of isotopes in minerals and rocks.

Bathgate Hills

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).

The geology of Aberdeenshire – mountains, glens and coast

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.

Islay

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.