Making Scotland’s Geology Accessible to All
Through regular blogs, digital field guides & education
With a sprinkling of structural geology, rock fractures and cultural curiosities, venturing outside of Scotland occasionally.
Zeolites in lava, Crawton, Aberdeenshire
Short Fieldguide: Stillbite is a type of zeolite found here together with quartz and calcite, filling holes in lava. Read on for a guide to this area.
Low Angle Normal Faults
Low angle faults are mechanically unfavourable as normal faults usually initiate at around 60 degrees. Here we take a look at some ways in which we can explain the formation of low angle faults.
Elephant Drinking in the Sea
Created by volcanic activity and shaped by the action of the sea, we take a closer look at the Elephant Rock on the North Sea coast just S of montrose
Drape Folds
Drape folds are different to those that have formed by compression. They form traps in oil fields and a nice example is shown here from Somerset, UK.
Dalradian metamorphism & structure at Skatie Shore (Stonehaven)
A wee write up of our Aberdeen Geological Society trip to Skatie Shore on 30th August 2026
Skatie Shore Fieldtrip, 30th Aug 2026
A wee bit of advertising for this geology trip to the highly deformed Dalradian age rocks just North of Stonehaven. With Aberdeen Geological Society.
Soft sediment faults & their folds in Hopeman Sandstone, Moray
Beautiful set of thrust faults in the Hopeman Sandstone that may have formed shortly after sand deposition (Permian period).
Molybdenum in Quartz Vein, Souter Head, Aberdeenshire
Molybdenum and small amounts of gold can be found in quartz veins in the Souter Head Complex, just S of Aberdeen, UK.
Arbroath Unconformity in Observers book of Geology
This spectacular unconformity at Arbroath is one of several Scottish locations that appear in the observers book of geology
Jointing in quartz-dolerite, Gloom Hill, Dollar
Gloom Hill Quarry, outside of the town of Dollar in Clackmannanshire, now abandonned, supplied quart dolerite for various uses such as road surfacing. There are many types of joints here.
TROVE 1st subsurface video of Ken Glennie Weekend (May 2026)
One hour long montage of field trip to the Moray Coast (Hopeman Sandstone), UK, to celebrate the life and work of Professor Ken Glennie in early May 2026. That’s me above btw, not Ken !
Geology of the Highland Boundary Fault Zone - an EAGE trip
On 8th June 2026, I co-led a geology trip to the Stonehaven coast as part of the EAGE annual conference in Aberdeen. Wide range of geological features here in what is quite a controversial area of Scottish geology
Gneisses in Craigeven Bay, Aberdeenshire
This boulder of gneiss sits on the beach of Craigeven Bay, just South of Aberdeen, Scotland - but it’s not from here - read on to find out more…
Clashach Cove Fault, Moray Coast
Great view of the Clashach Fault from hilltop on other side of the bay - read on to find about a bit more about this well exposed fault on the Moray coast.
Soft sediment folds, Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland
Not all folds in rocks form deep in the Earth’s crust - some examples here from the Scottish Fife coast have formed soon after sandstone deposition
Devonian fish-bearing nodules, Moray, Scotland
The disused quarry at Lethen House, just South of Auldearn (in Moray, Scotland) has exposed sediments where fossil fish bearing nodules can be found together with plant remains.
“Field-trip” to Aberdeen Art Gallery
We are surrounded by granite in Aberdeen, mainly the Rubislaw granite but there’s quite a variety at Aberdeen Art Gallery
Pleasant circular walk, Pitlochry Dam, Scotland.
A pleasant circular (& short) walk taking in a little bit of geology in the River Tummel
A trip to Aberlemno Quarry in Midland Valley
During the Devonian period (around 410 million years ago) there was a big lake in the Forfar area - we know this due to fossil fish found there
Geology of Inverbervie, East Scotland
Not a classic location for Scotland’s Geology - but I decided to take a look - glad that I did !
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