Geology of Northumberland
- This article describes the geology of the historic county of Northumberland. It does not include that southeastern part of the historic county which has since 1974 formed a part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear
The geology of Northumberland in northeast
Silurian
Rocks of the Gala Group outcrop near Berwick.
Devonian
Old Red Sandstone
The late Devonian Stratheden Group is characterised by sandstones with subordinate siltstones and mudstones. A small area of these rocks straddles the border to the southwest of The Cheviot.
Igneous rocks
Rocks assigned to the Cheviot Volcanic Formation, itself within the Reston Group, straddle the border with Scotland. This thick pile (over 1000m) of andesitic lavas was erupted during the early Devonian. The sequence includes rhyolites, agglomerates and tuff.[2] The Cheviot Pluton is a mass of Devonian granite.
Carboniferous
Yoredale Group
The Inverclyde Group extends from to the Scottish border near Byrness. Rocks of the Border Group extend in a broken and faulted belt south from Berwick towards Alnwick then southwest via Rothbury then onward to the county boundary west of Kielder Water. Within the Border Group the Fell Sandstone Formation reaches up to 370m thickness and is locally prominent around Rothbury Forest where it also forms the Simonside Hills which reach a height of 440m at Tosson Hill.
The
Coal Measures
The sandstones, siltstones, mudstones and
Permian
The
Palaeogene
Numerous dykes of
Structure
Northumberland sits above the
Quaternary
Glacial legacy
The larger part of the county is mantled by glacial
Blown sand
Much of the coast is backed by areas of blown sand, notably at Ross Links south of Lindisfarne, Druridge Bay, at Lynemouth and to the north and south of Blyth.
Raised beach
Raised beach deposits are recorded at Spittal, Berwick-upon-Tweed, at Lindisfarne and around Budle Bay and elsewhere.[6]
Peat
Large parts of Northumberland's uplands are blanketed by peat.
Alluvium
The floors of the main river valleys are formed by
See also
- Geology of the United Kingdom
- Geology of England
Further reading
British Geological Survey 1:50,000 scale geological map series sheets (England and Wales) 1-10 & 12-15, 18-20 & 24-25 and accompanying memoirs.
References
- ^ British Geological Survey 1:625,000 scale geological map Bedrock Geology UK North 5th Edn. NERC 2007
- ^ "BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units - Result Details". Bgs.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ Stone, P. et al 2010 British Regional Geology: Northern England (5th edn) (Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey),pp184-5
- ^ Stone, P. et al 2010 British Regional Geology: Northern England (5th edn) (Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey), pp212-3
- ^ British Geological Survey 1:625,000 scale geological map Quaternary Map of the United Kingdom South 1st Edn. 1977
- ^ BGS 1:50,000 scale geological map sheets (England and Wales series) sheet 1&2 Berwick-upon-Tweed and Norham & sheet 4 Holy Island