| P number: | P521397 |
|---|---|
| Caption: | Rock specimen of riebeckite granite. Ailsa Craig, Firth of Clyde, Ayrshire, Scotland. |
| Description: | The sample is a pale-coloured coarse-grained igneous rock with a distinctive granitic texture. It is technically a microgranite dominated by pale alkali feldspar crystals embedded in dark riebeckite amphibole and grey quartz. British Geological Survey Petrology Collection sample number EMC3360. The distinctive granite of Ailsa Craig forms part of the vast Tertiary Igneous Province of northern Britain. These formed around 60 million years ago. Much of the distinctive scenery of areas such as Arran, Mull, Ardnamurchan, Rum and Skye, and the Antrim Mountains in Northern Ireland, were formed as a result of this huge outpouring of magma. Because these rocks are well exposed and preserved they have been studied in great detail by generations of geologists, and provide an opportunity to study the deeper levels or 'roots' of volcanoes, from which we can learn much about currently active volcanoes today. The riebeckite granite of Ailsa Craig forms a Tertiary granite boss rising out of the Clyde estuary. It is one of a series of Tertiary granites. This blue-grey microgranite is very distinctive and has been extensively used as a marker for tracing the flow directions of Quaternary ice-sheets. It is also notable for its use in curling stones. Ailsa Craig has been extensively quarried for this purpose. |
| Date taken: | Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 GMT 2002 |
| Photographer: | McTaggart, F.I. |
| Associate: | T.S. Bain |
| Copyright statement: | NERC |
| Additional information: | EMC3360 |
| Orientation: | Landscape |
| Size: | 276.62 KB; 1000 x 775 pixels; 85 x 66 mm (print at 300 DPI); 265 x 205 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Average Rating: | Not yet rated |
| Categories: | Unsorted Images |
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