Site Help | Site Map | Search

Search
G e o l o g y R o
Home Tutorials Articles Community Glossary Images Fun Links Shop

Ads by Google Formation Geology

You are here » Hom e » Articles » Fossil Hunting in the Pentlands

Fossil Hunting in the Pentlands

In This Section
Education Wed, 10/15/2008 - 18:10
Reviews
News
Field Trips Introduction
About the
The Pentlands are a series of hills just south of Edinburgh. They consist of volcanic and author
User tags sedimentary rocks of Devonian and Silurian age. The sediments are both terrestrial and
evolution field trip marine, with the oldest being the marine Silurian. These Silurian rocks are the most
fossils geology interesting feature, forming three inliers or "windows". One of these inliers, the North
gwaii haida islands Esk Inlier, is very interesting both geologically and palaeontologically.
jurassic new content Jon
palaeontology Note: This area is an SSSI - do not hammer the exposed bedrock. There are University of Edinburgh
plenty of fossils in the loose scree.
paleontology yorkshire
Geological History
User login
Username: * The North Esk inlier is the southernmost of the three inliers. There are four formations that make up the inlier, which
young in the north-west direction (Figure).The formations are:
Password: *
The Deerhope formation
The Cock Rig formation
Log in
The Weather Linn Law formation
Create new
account The Henshaw formation
Request new The Silurian rocks that make up the inlier were deposited in a marine/coastal setting and have since been tilted to near-
password
vertical. At the time, sea-level was falling and, as a consequence, the formation prograded forward (Figure). The
Deerhope formation consists of shales, deposited on an offshore slope, and grades upwards into the Cock Rig
formation. The Cock Rig formation was an offshore island barrier, rather like Spurn Head which is currently forming in
the Mouth of the River Humber. The Cock Rig formation consists of cross-bedded sandstones and conglomerate
horizons, often with herringbone cross stratification - a clear indication of a tidal environment. The upper part of the
Cock Rig Formation consists of flat sand sheets, typical of beaches. This might be the coastline, but above this is the
Weather Law Linn formation which was a quiet marine lagoon. Like the Deerhope formation this formation is mainly
shales, but there is a white clay layer - bentonite from a volcanic ash fall. This is the most fossiliferous of the formations
in the Pentlands. Finally, the Henshaw formation is essentially the coastline and is a red sandstone, indicating semi-arid
environment. Indeed, there are horizons of conglomerates that are indicative of flash floods. These beds are typical of
the Devonian Era, but here they are found in the Mid-Silurian.

These formations form an ideal offshore barrier-lagoon system, which prograded forward in time as sea-levels fell.
The system retained its form for a prolonged period of time, though it is impossible to say how long a time. As these
rocks are now near vertical it is possible to walk from the deep water shales, up through the barrier island, into the
lagoon and finally onto the shoreline as you walk from SE to NW.

Figure 1 show the palaeoenvironment of the North Esk Inlier. Relative sea-level fell in the subsiding basin causing
progradation of the whole sequence. The most fossiliferous formation is the Weather Law Linn, which is behind the
barrier islands that make up the Cock Rig formation.

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Figure 1: Cartoon sketch showing the relationships between the Silurian strata in the North Esk inlier in the palaeoenvironment.

Localities
There are a few good localities in this area (Figure 2). Two are in the Weather Law Linn formation, one in the
Deerhope formation. There is limited exposure of the Cock Rig formation.The formations can be seen in a single day
trip, starting at Carlops, on the A702 (Edinburgh to Carlisle road). Parking is available in a small car park at the south
of Carlops on the left-hand sside of the road going south

Figure 2: Top map shows topography in the Pentland Hills, just south of Edinburgh (from Google Maps). The lower map shows
Carlops, with the parking (and pub!) marked. Produced under Crown Copyright from from Ordnance Survey's Get-a-map
service.Image reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey.

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Carlops (marked with "A" on upper map) is about 30 minutes drive south of Edinburgh on the A702 (follow signs to
Carlise). Parking (free) is on the south side of Carlops in a disused quarry. It is possible to drive up the rough road just
south and opposite the car park) to Fairliehope, past the treatment plant. This is also a pleasant walk.

The three localities are just to the North-East of the the North Esk Reservoir (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Localities on the North Esk inlier, with the approximate location of the four formations.

OS map of the area with fossil localities are marked by black circles. The colours match the palaeoenvironment
diagram above (Grey: Deerhope; Yellow: Cock Rig; Green: Weather Law Linn; Brown: Henshaw). The southermost
locality is in the Deerhope Formation. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to explore this as we were moved on
by a shooting party!

Locality 2 is just off the main path (take the left-hand path when you get to the gate), when you reached the disused
quarry, keep going over the next burn and the locality is to the left. This locality is the Weather Law Linn Formation.
The disused quarry just south of this contains an igneous intrusion and the Cock Rig Formation, which can be seen in

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
the hillside opposite too.

Locality three is interesting and deserves a more thorough description. Again, this locality is in the Weather Law Linn
Formation.

An interesting feature here is a thin band of bentonite - volcanic ash. This would have smothered the lagoon at the time
of eruption. Although sometimes difficult to find, once found it gives a clue to where to find the better fossils. The
bentonite is exposed as a white clay layer.

The layer passes from underneath my foot, to the top-right corner and the large lump of white is the clearest indication
of its presence! The volcanic eruption produced a massive change in the fauna of the lagoon.

Example Finds

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
The above images are from the Weather Law Linn formation containing Eoplectodonta and Leptaena. This is from
locality 2.

Trilobites are probably the most sought after finds. We found several parts, but no whole ones:

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
There are lot's of other types of fossils to be found, such as sponges, corals and crinoids. More examples will be
posted to the images section as we identify them.

Note: This area is an SSSI - do not hammer the exposed bedrock. There are plenty of fossils in the loose
scree.

Tags: Field Trips field trip fossils pentland hills silurian

Send to friend

Recon - Focus on Geology

Integrate w ell logs w ith seismic. 3 D Interpretation Softw are
www.austingeo.com

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Terms and Conditions | ©2009 Jon Hill & Katie Davis

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com