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Geological framework of the Inner Hebrides

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2012

D. R. Bowes
D. R. Bowes
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ
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Synopsis

The geology of the Inner Hebrides covers the time span from ca 2900 m.y. (million years) ago to the present and is dominated by three major crustal regimes. The foreland of the Caledonides is represented by the metamorphic rocks of the Lewisian complex on Rona, Raasay, Coll and Tiree. It is separated by the Moine thrust from the ca 525–100 m.y. old Caledonian mountain chain which is represented by the sediments of the Dalradian Supergroup of Jura and much of Islay. The younger, ca 60 m.y. old, Hebridean Tertiary Igneous Province has major centres in Skye, Rhum and Mull and basaltic lava flows cover considerable areas. Other geological features include the Mesozoic sediments and the products of both the Quaternary glacial activity and present day sedimentation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 83: The Natural Environment of the Inner Hebrides , 1983 , pp. 25 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1983

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