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Geology of Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the geology of the island of Ireland.

The geology of Ireland consists of the study of the rock formations in

Ireland. The island contains rocks from every age from Proterozoic to
Holocene, and almost every kind of rock is represented including some
which have been declared World Heritage Sites. The geologic detail
follows the major events in Ireland's past based on the geologic time
scale.

Contents
1 Timeline
2 Rocks and soil types
3 References
4 External links

Timeline
The oldest known Irish rock is about 1.7 billion years old and is found Bedrock geological map of Ireland.
on Inishtrahull Island off the north coast of Ulster.[1][2] Outcrops at
Annagh Head on the Mullet Peninsula are almost as old.[3] In other
parts of Donegal, scientists have discovered rocks that began life as
glacial deposits, demonstrating that at this early period, part of what
was to become Ireland was in the grip of an ice age. However, because
of the effects of later upheavals, it is almost impossible to sequence
these early rock layers correctly.[4]

About 600 million years ago, at the end of the Precambrian super-eon,
the Irish landmass was divided in two, with one half on the western side
of the Iapetus Ocean in Laurentia and the other on the eastern side in
the micro-continent Avalonia, both at a latitude of around 80 South, Layers of Upper Carboniferous
close to what is now northwest Africa.[5] From the evidence of the (Namurian) sedimentary rocks, Loop
Oldhamia fossils found at Bray Head in Leinster, both parts of Ireland Head, County Clare
were below sea level at this time.[6]

Over the next 50 million years, these two parts drifted towards each
other, eventually uniting about 440 million years ago. Fossils
discovered near Clogherhead, County Louth, show the coming together
of shoreline fauna from both sides of the original dividing ocean. The
mountains of northwest Ireland were formed during the collision, as
was the granite that is found in locations in Donegal and Wicklow. The
Irish landmass was now above sea level and lying near the equator, and
fossil traces of land-based life forms survive from this period. These
include fossilised trees from Kiltorcan, County Kilkenny, widespread
bony fish and freshwater mussel fossils and the footprints of a four- Slieve League in western Ulster
footed amphibian preserved in slate on Valentia Island in Munster. Old
Red Sandstone also formed at this time.[7]

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Between 400 million and 300 million years ago, Northwest Europe including Ireland sank beneath a warm,
calcium-rich sea. Great coral reefs formed in these waters, eventually creating the limestone that still makes up
about 65 per cent of the rock mantle of the island. As the waters receded, tropical forests and swamps
flourished. The resulting vegetable debris eventually formed coal, most of which was later eroded. This period,
known as the Carboniferous period, ended with further tectonic movement which saw Ireland drift further
northward. The resulting pressure created those Irish mountain and hill ranges that run in a northeast to
southwest direction.[8]

By 250 million years ago, Ireland was at the latitude of present-day

Egypt and had a desert climate. It was at this time that most of the coal
and sandstone were eroded. The thinner layers of limestone in the south
of the country were also partially affected by this erosion. The
limestone that was exposed by the disappearance of its sandstone
mantle was affected by carbon dioxide and other factors resulting in a
karstic landscape that can still be seen in the Burren in County Clare.[9]
Shortly after this period, organic debris in the seas around Ireland began
to form the natural gas and petroleum deposits that now play a role in
the economy of Ireland. Then, about 150 million years ago, Ireland was
Karst landscape in the Burren
again submerged, this time in a chalky sea that resulted in the formation
of chalk over large parts of the surface. Traces of this survive under the
basalt lava that is found in parts of the north.[10]

About 66 million years ago, the volcanic activity that formed this lava began. The Mourne Mountains and other
mountains in the northern part of the island formed as a result of this activity.[11] Climatic conditions at this
time were warm and vegetation thrived. Vegetable debris in the Antrim Depression formed deposits of brown
coal or lignite which remain untouched down to the present time.[7] The warm conditions produced high
rainfall that accelerated processes of erosion and the formation of karstic landscape forms.[12]

By 25 million years ago, Ireland was close to assuming its present position. From then on, a long period of
erosion resulted in considerable soil formation and most of the rock mantle was covered. In areas with good
drainage, the covering consisted of brown or grey soil, while in poorly drained areas, black clay tended to
dominate. As the climate cooled, soil formation slowed down, and a flora and fauna that would millions of
years later be familiar to the first human inhabitants, began to emerge. The present landscape of Ireland had
more or less formed.[13]

Since about 1.7 million years ago, the earth has been in the grip of a cycle of warm and cold stages and these
have, inevitably, affected Ireland. The earliest evidence we have for this effect comes from the period known as
the Ballylinian Warm Stage, some half a million years ago. At this time, most of what are now considered to be
native Irish trees were already established on the island. The action of the ice during the cold stages was the
major factor in bringing the Irish landscape to its current form.[7][14]

Obvious impacts of the ice on the landscape include the formation of glacial valleys such as Glendalough in
Wicklow and of corries, or glacial lakes. The depositing of mounds of debris under the melting ice created
drumlins, a common feature of the landscape across the north midlands.[15][16] Streams also formed under the
ice and the material deposited by these formed eskers (Irish eiscir). The greatest of these, the Esker Riada,
divides the northern and southern halves of the island and its ridge once served as the main highway connecting
the east and west coasts.[17] About one half of the coastline consists of a low-lying dune pasture land known as
machair.

Rocks and soil types

The large central lowland is of limestone covered with glacial deposits of clay and sand, with widespread bogs
and lakes. The Bog of Allen is one of the largest bogs.[18] The coastal mountains vary greatly in geological
structure. In the south, the mountains are composed of Old Red Sandstone with limestone river valleys. Around
the Ulster/Connacht border, the mountains are made from Carboniferous sandstones with softer Carboniferous
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limestones below them. In central Ulster, the mountains are

predominantly made from metamorphic rocks. In the west of both
Connacht and Ulster, the mountains are mostly metamorphic rocks with
some granite. The Mourne and Wicklow Mountains are mainly granite.
Much of the northeast of Ireland is a basalt plateau. An area of
particular note is the Giant's Causeway on the north coast, a mainly
basalt formation caused by volcanic activity between 5060 million
years ago.[19] The basalts were originally part of the great Thulean
Plateau formed during the Paleogene period.[20]
Layers of siltstone, shale and sandstone
The soils of the north and west tend to be poorly drained peats and
can be seen in the Cliffs of Moher, near
gleys, including peaty podzols. In contrast, in the south and east the
Doolin in Munster
soils are free-draining brown earths and brown and grey-brown
podzols.

An unusual environment is present in north Clare, in the Burren. This karst landscape consists of limestone
bedrock, with little or no soil in the innermost areas. There are numerous sinkholes, where surface water
disappears through the porous rock surface, and extensive cave systems have been formed in some areas.
Doolin Cave is the site of one of the world's longest known free-hanging stalactites.[21]

References

1. "Site Synopsis (Inishtrahull)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090327121447/http://www.npws.ie/en/med

ia/Media,3875,en.pdf) (PDF). National Parks and Wildlife Service. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.npws.ie/en/media/Media,3875,en.pdf) (PDF) on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
2. Woodcock, N. H. (2000). Geological History of Britain and Ireland (https://books.google.com/books?id=
dTkKn8Ufzd4C&ie=ISO-8859-1). Blackwell Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 0-632-03656-7.
3. Daly, J. Stephen (1996). "Pre-Caledonian History of the Annagh Gneiss Complex North-Western Ireland,
and Correlation with Laurentia-Baltica". Irish Journal of Earth Sciences. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy.
15: 5. JSTOR 30002311 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/30002311).
4. Hull, Edward; Nolan, Joseph; Cruise, R.J.; M'Henry, Alexander (1890). Memoirs of the Geological
Survey (http://www.geologicalmaps.net/irishhistmapsdownload/b02007.pdf) (PDF). Dublin: Lord
Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury. pp. 15, 21. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
5. Hill, Jon; Davis, Katie (November 2007). "Precambrian History of England and Wales" (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20071207193348/http://www.geologyrocks.co.uk/tutorials/precambrian_history_england_and
_wales). GeologyRocks.com. Archived from the original (http://www.geologyrocks.co.uk/tutorials/preca
mbrian_history_england_and_wales) on 7 December 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
6. "Fossil at Bray head" (http://www.museum.ie/The-Collections/Documentation-Discoveries/November-20
14-(1)/A-Canadian-Pseudo-fossil). Museum.ie. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
7. Mulvihill, Mary (1 Dec 2003). Ingenious Ireland: A County-by-County Exploration of the Mysteries and
Marvels of the Ingenious Irish. Simon and Schuster. pp. 11, 13. ISBN 0684020947.
8. Plant, J.A.; Whittaker, A.; Demetriades, A.; De Vivo, B.; Lexa, J. (2005). The Geological and Tectonic
Framework of Europe (http://weppi.gtk.fi/publ/foregsatlas/article.php?id=4). Geological Survey of
Finland. ISBN 9516909213. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
9. "Landscapes for living!" (http://www.gsi.ie/Education/European+Landscapes/Ireland.htm). European
Landscapes. Geological Survey of Ireland. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
10. "The Ulster Chalk" (https://web.archive.org/web/20151005135154/http://www.gsi.ie/Programmes/Groun
dwater/Karst+Booklet/The+Ulster+Chalk.htm). Geological Survey of Ireland. Archived from the original
(http://www.gsi.ie/Programmes/Groundwater/Karst+Booklet/The+Ulster+Chalk.htm) on 5 October 2015.
Retrieved 31 August 2015.
11. "Northern Ireland Living World" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120407020205/http://www.bbc.co.uk/
northernireland/livingworld/naturalhistory/places/index.shtml). BBC. September 2004. Archived from
the original (http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/livingworld/naturalhistory/places/index.shtml) on
2012-04-07. Retrieved 2013-11-22.

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12. Sanders, Ian (2007). Six Common Kinds of Rock from Ireland (http://geoschol.com/downloads/six_comm
on_rock_small.pdf) (PDF). Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin. p. 36.
13. Lloyd Praeger D.Sc., Robert (1934). THE BOTANIST IN IRELAND (http://www.botanicgardens.ie/herb/b
ooks/bit1.htm). Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co. p. 13.
14. "GSI geology and cuisine" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120922151407/http://www.gsi.ie:80/Educatio
n/Geology+and+Cuisine+of+Ireland.htm). GSI. Archived from the original (https://www.gsi.ie/Educatio
n/Geology+and+Cuisine+of+Ireland.htm) on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
15. Woodcock, N. H. (1994). Geology and Environment in Britain and Ireland (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?q=isbn%3A1857280547&btnG=Search+Books). CRC Press. p. 13. ISBN 1-85728-054-7.
16. Moody, Theodore William; Francis John Byrne; Francis X Martin; Art Cosgrove (2005). A New History
of Ireland (https://books.google.com/books?id=SJSDj1dDvNUC). Oxford University Press. p. 37.
ISBN 0-19-821737-4.
17. Foster, John Wilson; Helena C. G. Chesney (1998). Nature in Ireland: A Scientific and Cultural History
(https://books.google.com/books?id=SG8sbdTzUdgC&dq=esker+riada). McGill-Queen's Press. p. 16.
ISBN 0-7735-1817-7.
18. "Bog of Allen" (http://www.askaboutireland.ie/enfo/irelands-environment/county-focus/kildare/bog-of-al
len/). Ask About Ireland. Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Retrieved
22 November 2013.
19. "Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast" (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/369). Unesco World Heritage
Sites. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
20. Brittle tectonism in relation to the Palaeogene evolution of the Thulean/NE Atlantic domain: a study in
Ulster (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/61005289/ABSTRACT) (Subscription
required) Retrieved on 10 November 2007
21. Deegan, Gordon (27 May 1999). "Blasting threatens future of stalactite" (https://web.archive.org/web/20
110629130315/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/05/27/ihead.htm). Irish Examiner. Archived
from the original (http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1999/05/27/ihead.htm) on 2011-06-29. Retrieved
23 January 2008.

External links
Geological Survey Maps Collection (https://digital.ucd.ie/view/ivrla:19956), Irish Virtual Research
Library and Archive, University College Dublin

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