The Old Red Sandstone is a rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. This is a List of rock formations meaning isolated scenic or spectacular surface rock outcrops Palaeontology redirects here For the Scientific journal, see Palaeontology (journal.
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Sedimentology
The Old Red Sandstone describes a sandstone deposited after the Acadian Orogeny in the late Silurian, and before the Carboniferous. Sandstone is a Sedimentary rock composed mainly of Sand -size Mineral or rock grains. Deposition is the geological process by which material is added to a Landform or land mass The Acadian orogeny is a middle Paleozoic deformation especially in the northern Appalachians, between New York and Newfoundland. The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician period about 443 The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian period about 359
The body of rock, or facies, is dominated by alluvial sediments and conglomerates at its base, and progresses to a combination of dunes, lakes and river sediments. In Geology, rock is a naturally occurring aggregate of Minerals and/or Mineraloids The Earth's outer solid layer the ‘ Lithosphere The term " Facies " can also refer to distinctive Facial expressions associated with conditions such as Williams syndrome. Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, "to wash against" is Soil or Sediments deposited by a river or other running Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of A conglomerate (kɒnˈglɒmərət is a rock consisting of individual stones that have become cemented together In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there
Its familiar red colour arises from the presence of iron oxide but not all the old red sandstone is red or sandstone - grey shales and conglomerates are common. Altogether there are sixteen known Iron Oxides and oxyhydroxides Shale (also called mudstone) is a fine-grained Sedimentary rock whose original constituents were Clay minerals or Muds It is characterized by
History of study
In the early 1800s, the paleontology of the formation was studied intensively by Hugh Miller, Henry Thomas De la Beche, Roderick Murchison, and Adam Sedgwick -- Sedgwick's interpretation was the one that placed it in the Devonian, and in fact it was he that coined that word. Hugh Miller (1802 &ndash 1856 was a self-taught Scottish Geologist and writer Folklorist and an Evangelical Christian. Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche ( February 10, 1796 &ndash April 13, 1855) was an English Geologist who helped pioneer early Sir Roderick Impey Murchison 1st Baronet KCB FRS ( 19 February, 1792 &ndash 22 October, 1871) was an influential Adam Sedgwick ( 22 March 1785 &ndash 27 January 1873) was one of the founders of modern Geology. The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to million years ago. Many of the science of stratigraphy's early debates were about the Old Red Sandstone. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Stratigraphy, a branch of Geology, studies rock layers and layering ( stratification) Old Red Sandstone often occur in conjunction with conglomerate formations, one such noteworthy cliffside exposure being the Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve, Kincardineshire. In Geography and Geology, a cliff is a significant vertical or near vertical rock exposure Fowlsheugh is a Coastal Nature reserve in Kincardineshire, northeast Scotland, known for its seventy metre high cliff formations and habitat supporting The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns (from A' Mhaoirne meaning 'The Stewartry' was a local government
Common Building Stone
In regions where the formation is near the surface, many stone houses are built of the rocks quarried from it. House generally refers to a Shelter or Building that is a Dwelling or place for Habitation by Human beings. Notable examples can be found in the area surrounding Stirling [1], Stonehaven [2], Perth [3], and Tayside. Stirling ( Gaelic: Sruighlea, Scots: Stirlin) is a city and former ancient Burgh in Scotland, and is at Stonehaven ( Steenhive in the Doric dialect of Scots) and Cala na Creige in Gaelic is a town with around fourteen thousand inhabitants Perth (Peairt is a town and former Royal burgh in central Scotland. Tayside ( Taobh Tatha in Gaelic) was a local government region of Scotland from The inhabitants of Caithness [4] at the northeastern tip of Scotland also used the stone to a considerable extent. Geography Caithness extends about 40 Miles (64 Kilometres) north-south and about 30 miles (50 km east-west
Note that in older geological works predating theories of plate tectonics, the United States' Catskill Delta formation is sometimes referred to as part of the Old Red Sandstone. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Devonian Catskill Formation (Dck is the name given to a thick Bedrock unit found in Pennsylvania In the modern day, however, it is recognized that the two are not stratigraphically continuous but are very similar due to being formed at approximately the same time by the same processes.
Notable buildings constructed of Old Red Sandstone
- Muchalls Castle, Scotland [5]
- Stonehaven Tolbooth, Scotland [6]
- Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland [7] & [8]
- Tintern Abbey, South Wales [9] & [10]
- Ross-on-Wye market hall, Herefordshire [11]
- Shrewsbury Castle, Shropshire [12]
See also
External links
Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Stonehaven Tolbooth is a late sixteenth century stone building originally used as a Courthouse and a Prison in the town of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire Sweetheart Abbey ( Gd An Abaid Ur) 8 miles south of Dumfries, near to the Nith in south-west Scotland, was a Cistercian Tintern Abbey ( Abaty Tyndyrn) was founded by Walter de Clare Lord of Chepstow, on May 9, 1131. South Wales (De Cymru is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south and Mid Wales and West Wales Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: Rhosan ar Wy) is a small Market town with a population of 10089 (according to the 2001 census in southeastern Herefordshire Constitution Herefordshire was reconstituted both as a new Non-metropolitan district (effective 19th July 1996 and as a new County comprising the area of the Shrewsbury Castle is a Red sandstone Castle in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Shropshire (ˈʃrɒpʃɪə/ /-ʃə alternatively known as Salop or abbreviated in print only Shrops, is a county in the The New Red Sandstone is a chiefly British geological term for the beds of red sandstone laid throughout the Permian (280 million years ago to the beginning The Geology of Great Britain is hugely varied and complex and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the islandsDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic