Geology of Great Britain
| Geology of Great Britain | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Quaternary (Alluvium) |  |
|
| Paleogene / Neogene (Tertiary) | |||
| Cretaceous | |||
| Lower Cretaceous | |||
| middle/upper Jurassic | |||
| lower Jurassic | |||
| upper Triassic | |||
| lower Triassic | |||
| upper Permian | |||
| lower Permian | |||
| upper Carboniferous (Coal Measures) | |||
| middle Carboniferous | |||
| lower Carboniferous (limestone) | |||
| Devonian | |||
| Ordovician / Silurian | |||
| Cambrian | |||
| Neoproterozoic | |||
| Proterozoic (upper Precambrian) | |||
| Lewisian (lower Precambrian) | |||
| granite | |||
| Paleogene volcanics | |||
The geology of Great Britain is renowned for its diversity. As a result of its eventful geological history, Great Britain shows a rich variety of landscapes across the constituent countries of England, Wales and Scotland. Rocks of almost all geological ages are represented at outcrop, from the Archaean onwards.
Seismographical research shows that the crust of the Earth below Great Britain is from 27 to 35 km (17 to 22 miles) thick. The oldest surface rocks are found in north west Scotland and are more than half as old as the planet. These rocks are thought to underlie much of Great Britain (although boreholes have only penetrated the first few kilometres), but next appear extensively at the surface in Brittany and the Channel Islands. The youngest rocks are found in south east England.
The bedrock geology consists of a complex mix of generally older metamorphic rocks overlain by varying sequences of sedimentary rocks, into both of which igneous rocks have been intruded at different times. The complexity of Great Britain's geology is due ultimately to its being subject to a variety of plate tectonic processes over a very extended period of time. Changing latitude and sea levels have been important factors in the nature of sedimentary sequences, while successive continental collisions have affected its geological structure with major faulting and folding being a legacy of each orogeny (mountain-building period), often associated with volcanic activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences.
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