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278:(or 'mountain-building' episodes) which have taken place over geological history. Structures originating in one event may play a part in subsequent orogenic events and be modified by them. Thus lines of crustal weakness commonly associated with, for example, the Caledonian Orogeny will often predate this particular mountain-building period, much as some of those created during this phase were reactivated during later events.
386:
Each of these structures is aligned northeast - southwest, albeit with the more northerly of them trending closer to NNE - SSW. A map or satellite photo readily reveals these major trends. There are hundreds of other lesser faults and folds which follow a similar alignment - a trend known as the
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along a line approximating to the modern
English-Scottish border. This long drawn-out, multi-phase event resulted in innumerable geological structures, many of which have persisted to the present day and help to shape the landscapes of much of Britain, from
125:
from which it is composed. These are essentially continental fragments whose boundaries are generally defined by faults. Individual terranes typically contain suites of structures, the histories and form of which differ from those of neighbouring terranes.
242:
Northern
England is characterised by a series of fault-bound blocks separated by sedimentary basins whose origin can be traced back to the Carboniferous period. The North Pennines are formed on the
474:
An east-west extensional regime affecting the crust of
England led to the formation of a series of structural basins developing through England between the English Channel and the Irish Sea during
594:
728:
274:
Another approach to the study of the geological structure of the area is through consideration of the variety of structures resulting from each of several
186:
The
Central - Southern Uplands Terrane extends across the northernmost part of England. Its southern margin is the Iapetus Suture, south of which lies the
604:
528:
began 200 million years ago and continues to the present day. It comprises a series of collisions involving various micro-continents between northern
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589:
713:
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368:
163:
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552:, but the northernmost 'ripples' of this event have affected the structure of southern England. Structures include;
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and the enlarged
Laurussia. In Britain it resulted in a variety of geological structures across the southwest from
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187:
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231:
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159:
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and thence to the East Irish Sea Basin. The
Needwood and Knowle basins are two smaller basins in the North
52:
A wide range of geological structures occur across
Britain and include examples at a variety of scales of:
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The
Cheshire Basin: Basin evolution, fluid movement and mineral resources in a Permo-Triassic Rift setting
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Our understanding of
Britain's large-scale structure has been gained over many decades by simple
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266:. The Northumberland and Gainsborough Troughs lie to the north and south of these two blocks.
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Zone, which runs parallel to the
English-Scottish border, though some miles to its south.
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A useful approach to considering Britain's geological structure is to examine the various
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612: – Science of the description and interpretation of deformation in the Earth's crust
647:(First ed.). Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey. pp. 1–3, 14–17.
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North-south cross-section through southern England, showing the Weald Basin, which was
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and to the north by the Stublick and Ninety Fathom Faults. It is separated from the
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during the Alpine Orogeny forming the Wealden Anticline. Vertical exaggeration 1:5.
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are deemed to be composed of numerous micro-terranes, known collectively as the
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to the south by the Stainmore Trough. This latter block, coincident with the
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took place between about 490 and 390 million years ago as the former
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together with an increasing range of technological methods including
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170:. Each of these terranes form a part of the former continent of
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spanning more than two billion years. This piece of the Earth's
49:', each of which has added further complexity to the picture.
206:. Central to this composite terrane is the triangular-shaped
198:. The majority of the rest of England and Wales north of the
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was a complex affair whereby the former micro-continent of
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has experienced several episodes of mountain building or '
37:
is complex, resulting as it does from a long and varied
633:
Pharaoh, T.C. et al 1:1,500,000 (Keyworth, Notts, BGS)
669:
Tectonic Map of Britain, Ireland & adjacent areas
631:
Tectonic map of Britain, Ireland and adjacent areas
158:separates the Central Highlands Terrane from the
643:Plant, J.A.; Jones, D.G.; Haslam, H.W. (1999).
270:Structural legacy of mountain-building episodes
595:List of geological faults of Northern Ireland
8:
693:Brenchley P.J & Rawson P.F. (eds) 2006,
174:whose southeastern margin is defined by the
27:Overview of geological structures in Britain
671:, Pharaoh et al. 1:1500 000 (Keyworth, BGS)
421:), followed by a further collision between
605:List of geological folds in Great Britain
585:Gravity anomalies of Britain and Ireland
622:
536:. Its effects are most evident in the
148:Central Highlands (or Grampian) Terrane
548:and other mountain ranges of southern
146:. This area in turn abuts against the
600:List of geological faults of Scotland
214:(or 'Malvern Lineament') divides the
210:; within it, the north–south aligned
162:, which is itself separated from the
18:Geological Structure of Great Britain
7:
590:List of geological faults of England
246:which is defined to the west by the
498:associated with this rift complex.
304:collided obliquely with the former
729:Stratigraphy of the United Kingdom
238:Pennine Block & Basin Province
164:Central - Southern Uplands Terrane
25:
667:British Geological Survey. 1996,
202:are considered to constitute the
697:. The Geological Society, London
695:The Geology of England and Wales
684:. The Geological Society, London
258:, is defined to the west by the
629:British Geological Survey 1996
470:Post-Variscan crustal extension
138:is defined to the east by the
1:
369:Welsh Borderland Fault System
182:Terranes of England and Wales
490:which in turn links to the
188:Leinster - Lakesman Terrane
745:
517:
394:
321:. Key structures include:
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232:Rosslare - Monian Terranes
144:Northern Highlands Terrane
580:Geology of Great Britain
262:and to the south by the
204:Avalon Composite Terrane
142:, beyond which lies the
32:geological structure of
682:The Geology of Scotland
680:Trewin N.H. (ed) 2002,
343:Highland Boundary Fault
156:Highland Boundary Fault
95:geological field survey
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445:. Structures include:
353:Southern Uplands Fault
282:The Caledonian Orogeny
168:Southern Uplands Fault
160:Midland Valley Terrane
714:Carboniferous geology
509:
348:Midland Valley graben
218:in the west from the
413:(otherwise known as
391:The Variscan Orogeny
374:Cribarth Disturbance
338:Walls Boundary Fault
208:Midlands Microcraton
130:Terranes of Scotland
107:aeromagnetic surveys
452:Dodman-Start Thrust
264:Craven Fault System
190:which includes the
109:and other forms of
610:Structural geology
516:
502:The Alpine Orogeny
387:Caledonoid trend.
358:Menai Strait Fault
317:northwards to the
294:Caledonian Orogeny
288:Caledonian orogeny
72:sedimentary basins
39:geological history
724:Paleozoic England
565:Purbeck Monocline
560:Wealden Anticline
419:Old Red Continent
379:Neath Disturbance
226:and parts of the
222:in the east. The
220:Charnwood Terrane
136:Hebridean Terrane
16:(Redirected from
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719:Geology of Wales
698:
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685:
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672:
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403:Variscan Orogeny
397:Variscan orogeny
333:Great Glen Fault
319:Shetland Islands
224:Isle of Anglesey
154:. Similarly the
152:Great Glen Fault
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484:Worcester Basin
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298:micro-continent
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256:Yorkshire Dales
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228:Lleyn peninsula
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103:seismic surveys
99:gravity surveys
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526:Alpine Orogeny
520:Alpine orogeny
518:Main article:
503:
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492:Cheshire Basin
488:Stafford Basin
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462:Carrick Thrust
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409:collided with
395:Main article:
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286:Main article:
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216:Wrekin Terrane
200:Variscan Front
196:North Pennines
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176:Iapetus Suture
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111:remote sensing
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88:unconformities
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486:links to the
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457:Lizard Thrust
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427:Pembrokeshire
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252:Askrigg Block
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248:Pennine Fault
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192:Lake District
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62:thrust faults
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34:Great Britain
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328:Moine Thrust
291:
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244:Alston Block
241:
212:Malvern Line
185:
140:Moine Thrust
133:
120:
92:
79:
51:
31:
29:
546:Carpathians
482:times. The
315:South Wales
708:Categories
654:0852723334
617:References
429:and South
415:Euramerica
364:Bala Fault
260:Dent Fault
150:along the
431:Glamorgan
411:Laurussia
310:Laurentia
306:continent
276:orogenies
172:Laurentia
47:orogenies
574:See also
542:Pyrenees
512:inverted
496:Midlands
480:Triassic
443:Cornwall
423:Gondwana
407:Armorica
302:Avalonia
123:terranes
117:Terranes
476:Permian
417:or the
166:by the
77:grabens
651:
550:Europe
534:Africa
530:Europe
83:horsts
57:faults
439:Devon
435:Wales
67:folds
43:crust
649:ISBN
538:Alps
532:and
524:The
478:and
441:and
401:The
360:Zone
292:The
194:and
134:The
30:The
437:to
433:in
308:of
300:of
80:and
710::
544:,
540:,
234:.
113:.
105:,
101:,
657:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.