Tag Archives: geology
The geology and fauna of the Spilsby Sandstone
The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary interval is represented in Lincolnshire by the Spilsby Sandstone Formation, a shallow water marine deposit that spans the Volgian stage of the Jurassic to the Berriasian stage of the Cretaceous (Hopson et al. 2008). The ammonite faunas … Continue reading
Urban geology: boulders and the Dutch
My late wife, Dr Trina MacGillivray, was a geomorphologist. She loved the Netherlands and the Dutch landscape, but more than once made astute comparisons with the scenery of other northern European countries. The Dutch landscape, if it has a fault, … Continue reading
Urban geology: palaeontology at the Wagamama restaurant, Amsterdam
A misconception shared by many non-palaeontologists is that fossils are rare. For example, when governments pass legislation to protect their fossil heritage, they are stopping the export of complete and well-preserved specimens, such as those of Mesozoic dinosaurs, hominids and … Continue reading
The geology of Charles Darwin
Like the writer, Johann Goethe, who inscribed himself in the guest book of Karlsbad – present day Karlovy Vary, in the Czech Republic – as “J.W. Goethe, Geognost”, Charles Darwin considered himself a geologist (“I, a geologist” citation from his notebooks … Continue reading
Urban geology: two granites
Building stones may tell us something or nothing about the geology of the local area. As Ted Nield (2014) recently highlighted in his book Underlands, stones used in Britain today are rarely local. Once upon a time, local stone would … Continue reading
Geology of Grandfather Mountain
Like all mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are the result of the action of plate tectonics. The crust of our planet is composed of five primary plates, or huge pieces of rock that … Continue reading
Urban geology: monumental geology
My writings on urban geology are normally centred in the area around my home in Noord Holland, but sometimes I am lucky enough to travel. A personal wish that I have had since I was a teenager was to see … Continue reading
Urban geology: A sunny Sunday in Hoofddorp
The last weekend in September 2013 was sunny after more than two weeks of grey skies, rain and even some fog. Saturday was spent as planned, moving bookcases ahead of Karen’s insatiable paintbrush, the walls changing from lime green to … Continue reading
Geology and terrestrial life of the Carboniferous
The Carboniferous Period is a fascinating time in earth history. It spanned 60myrs (359.2 to 299.0mya), towards the end of the Palaeozoic era, falling between the Devonian and Permian. During the Carboniferous, the supercontinent Pangaea was assembling and the oceans … Continue reading
Classic Geology in Europe 12: Almeria
Almeria is a province in southeast Spain, situated in the furthest southeast part of the Iberian Peninsula. It is a classic area for southern European and Mediterranean Neogene and Quaternary geology. In fact, it is not far north of the … Continue reading