Fossils, geology and minerals. The highly acclaimed international earth science magazine with over 600 articles and book reviews.
David Lamb (UK) For fossil collectors, lapidaries and scientists, the reappearance of Burmite is major news. Burmite is the traditional name for the rare, Cretaceous amber mined in the Upper Hukawng Valley of northern Burma (Myanmar). It is the hardest, oldest and, in the opinion of many collectors, the most … Read More
Deborah Painter (USA) They looked ordinary. The cobbles and pebbles, in the streambeds and along the banks of the shallow streams in Pittsylvania and Franklin Counties, Virginia, USA, seemed like any other quartzite and gneiss specimens one sees used as building stones. They were recorded by the ecology teams working … Read More
I recently reviewed another of the guides in Crowood Press’s excellent “Landscape and Geology” guides, which was undoubtedly a great read. And this one is equally good, with great, full colour pictures, maps and diagrams, and easy to read text, with descriptions of interesting walks and what can be seen on them.That is, there are easy-to-understand explanations of how the rocks formed and how the geology affects the landscape, and there is also an n exploration of the long human story of the landscapes.
reviewed the 2nd edition of this guide a while ago and, as I said then, Iceland seems to set the hearts of certain geologists racing and, reading this field guide and that previous incarnation, it is abundantly clear why. Iceland’s fascinating geology is clearly set out in this concise and authoritative book. The island, astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, is a ‘natural laboratory’ where the earth sciences can be watched in real-time. Rifting of the crust, volcanic eruptions and glacial activity are among a host of processes and features that can be observed in this fascinating land.
This is another guide in the excellent “Landscape and Geology” series of local geological guides published by The Crowood Press. And this is as good as the others. Admittedly, it has a wonderful subject matter, because the Isle of Wight is a geological gem with its 110km long coastline displaying a range of rocks dating from Lower Cretaceous to Oligocene age. I know from personal experience that many of its sands and clays contain collectable fossil bivalves and gastropods, and its famous dinosaur footprints attract attention from both geologists and tourists, with always the possibility of finding a bone or two.
Dr Kendal Martyn Meteorites have long held fascination for me – that is, they aren’t from this planet. Added “glamour” has come from recent suggestions that at least one meteorite impact on earth could be responsible for mass-extinction events, the largest “smoking gun” in evolutionary selection. Also, meteorites are the … Read More
Goodness me! This is a massive work (432 pages) – but written with enthusiasm from the heart, with authoritative text, lovely photos throughout, fascinating anecdotes and history, with detailed geological descriptions of all the relevant counties. Now, I’m no expert on minerals, which fall well outside the scope of my interests. However, I cannot praise this book too much.
Khursheed Dinshaw (India) I was crunching white salt under my feet at the Great Rann of Kutch, which is located in the region of Kutch in the state of Gujarat, India. The only time I stopped was to happily scoop a bit of the salt in the palm of my … Read More
Notwithstanding the somewhat daunting use of the word “geophysics” in the title, this is another great book in Dunedin’s Introducing Earth and Environmental Sciences series of guides. In fact, In fact, the only real way to understand the Earth, in all its large and slow-moving immensity, is to study its physics and that means using the classical disciplines of heat, gravity, magnetism, electricity, vibrations and waves. That is, everything we know about the deep Earth has been learnt from geophysics.
Alister Cruickshanks (UK) Granite rocks are igneous rocks that were formed by slowly cooling pockets of magma that were trapped beneath the earth’s surface. Granite is used all over the world in the construction industry due to its unique properties and versatile range of colours and textures. One common characteristic … Read More
I have to admit, I was beginning to wonder where Prof Rory Mortimore’s update of his excellent Chalk of Sussex and Kent was. And now I know. It wasn’t a second edition he was working on, but this magnificent magnum opus in two volumes covering a vastly greater area than that other guide. And the wait was more than worthwhile. The thoroughness, writing quality, content and publication standards are superb.
Deborah Painter (USA) Los Angeles, California features among its many long boulevards a street that trends north to south for 34km: La Brea Avenue. This boulevard is named for a tranquil park a few city blocks from it, on Wilshire Boulevard. The park boasts animal statuary and the Pleistocene Garden, … Read More
Khursheed Dinshaw (India) When I was a child, my mother gifted me a pink pendant. At the time, I didn’t know that it was pink (or rose) quartz. The colour fascinated me and I wore the pendant for many years. As an adult, I learnt that pink quartz is regarded … Read More
E R Matheau-Raven (UK) Amber is the hardened resin of coniferous and angiosperm trees. Resin should not be confused with sap, which is a product of photosynthesis that consists of sugars, water and dissolved minerals. The sticky extrusive mass that comes from a cut on a pine tree is resin. … Read More
Alister and Ian Cruickshanks (UK) During the year of 1818, a nugget of gold weighing around ten pennyweights was discovered in the river Helmsdale, in Northeast Scotland. The find sparked national interest and the Scottish local newspapers were soon headlining the discovery. It was then in 1968 that Scotland ensured … Read More
Dr Kendal Martyn (UK) This article describes several processes producing the shape of crystals. Such processes are illustrated in the most common mineral from the Earth’s surface, quartz. Quartz or “simple” silicon dioxide, is made up of interlocking atoms of silicon and oxygen, arranged into various symmetrical structures depending on … Read More
Helen Gould (UK) Chemistry is the key to identifying the source of a meteorite. The commonest rock in the Solar System – and on Earth – is basalt. Erupted at mid-ocean ridges and many hotspot volcanoes, it also floors the oceans. However, each of these situations can be identified as … Read More
The Crowood Press are really developing a nice little series of books on the landscape and geology of select regions of the British Isles, and Tony Waltham’s addition to the series about the Peak District is well worth a read. This new one follows the same format as the others – beautiful, full colour photos and diagrams, a fascinating chapter on each of the important geological and geomorphological aspects of the area (including buildings and industry), and an author who knows his stuff and can write it down with an easy and authoritative style.
This is an ambitious little field guide, which aims to allow amateurs to identify basic rocks and rock formations, for the first time, in a systematic way., as it says: “… using only careful observation, a magnifying glass, a pocket knife – and a bit of patience”.
Stephen Moreton (UK) Our journey around Ireland concludes in Ulster. This comprises Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan, which are part of the Republic of Ireland. As geology is no respecter of politics, the national border is ignored here. I … Read More
Helen Gould UK) What are meteorites? Lumps of rock left over from the formation of the solar system or “chipped off” planets during major impacts can become trapped in the Earth’s gravitational field and fall as meteorites. The three main types are iron, stony and stony-iron. All of these are … Read More
Stephen Moreton (UK) In the first two articles of this series, we looked at Leinster and Munster. Continuing in a clockwise fashion brings us to Connaught. Some of Ireland’s oldest rocks are to be found here, forming the Ox Mountains. The rugged and mountainous west is dominated by metamorphic rocks … Read More
Stephen Moreton (UK) In the second part of our tour of Ireland, we head for Munster, which occupies the southwest corner of the island. Geologically, the rocks are mostly inland Carboniferous shales and limestones, with Devonian sandstones forming the coastal peninsulas. All host mineral localities of note. Starting in County … Read More
Stephen Moreton (UK) The island of Ireland has much to offer the mineral collector, but is relatively unknown to most. This may in part be due to a lack of published information, although, for years, the troubles in the north also served to deter visitors for many years. This series … Read More
Helen Gould (UK) Following on from my articles on plate tectonics and the rock cycle, the tables below will hopefully be useful as an aide-mémoire to identify rock samples on your field trips. Further reading Introducing Metamorphism, by Ian Sanders, Dunedin Academic Press Ltd, Edinburgh (2018), 148 pages (Paperback), ISBN: … Read More
Helen Gould (UK) In Plate tectonics (Part 3): The rock cycle, I presented an overview of the relationship between the rock cycle and plate tectonics, and then went on to look more closely at igneous rocks. This time, I want to discuss sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, and review the occurrence … Read More
Helen Gould (UK) What is the rock cycle? Usually, the first thing that budding geologists learn about rocks is that there are three kinds: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. These three major kinds are divided up into many different types of rock. For example, marble, slate and metaquartzite are all metamorphic … Read More
Helen Gould (UK) As we saw last time (Plate tectonics (Part 1): What are they?), the Earth is a pretty dynamic place, with tectonic plates moving about on the surface, driven by convection cells in the upper mantle. But producing a workable theory, which combined most of the observations of … Read More
Helen Gould (UK) What does “plate tectonics” really mean? The Earth’s surface bears about 20 plates, which are able, over millions of years, to move about on layers beneath the crust. Some of the surfaces of these plates consist of continental crust, some of oceanic crust, some both (Fig. 1). … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) If Yorkshire really is ‘God’s Own County’, then clearly the Almighty is an enthusiastic geologist. Just how lucky is the Yorkshire man who, on the same day, can see some of the best and most varied geology in the world, set out in glorious coastal and mountain … Read More
