Geology of Scotland

The geology of Scotland is surprisingly varied for the size of the country, with a large number of different geological characteristics. [1]  there are three different geographical sub-divisions: the Highlands and Islands is a diverse region North and West of the Highland Boundary Fault lies; the Central Lowlands is a Rift Valleymainly Paleozoic formations exists and the Southern Uplands, which is South of a second fault line is located and mainly from Silurian deposits exists.

The bedrock includes very ancient Archean gneiss, metamorphic rocks are granite with which arise during the Caledonian orogeny, commercially important elements such as coal, oil and iron with Carboniferous deposits and the remains of substantial tertiary volcanoes. The climate of Scotland ranged throughout the history of Arctic to desert to tropical making a very wide variety of fossils can be found.

Scotland has also played an important role in discoveries as plate tectonics and the development of theories about the formation of rocks and was the birthplace of important figures as James Hutton, Hugh Miller and Archibald Geikie. Different locations as the 'Hutton's Unconformity' at Siccar Point in Berwickshire and the Moine thrust in the Northwest were also important in the development of geology.