Geological Map of the West Country, from the Geological Survey
The map above has been extracted (and amended) from the Geological Survey’s “Geology of Britain viewer” which you can see below.
Geological Excursions in the Bristol District
| Geology needs rocks! And Bristol has many places to look at rocks AND many different rocks to look at! Indeed the first (1912) excursion guide to the Bristol District (by S. H. Reynolds, the third professor of geology at the university) said “Owing to the remarkably varied character of its rocks, the Bristol district seems specially marked out for a geological handbook.” Reynolds’ guide was superseded, in 1977, by “Geological Excursions in the Bristol District” edited by Professor R. J. G. Savage (ISBN 0 901239 22 4), and it is this which I make use of on this web site. It is unlikely that the present Department of Earth Sciences will produce an up to date version of this guide, but fortunately it is a very good guide and I do not think that there is anything “wrong” in it. Much may be out of date, and interpretations be different, but the rocks are the same as in 1977, and will be for the next few millennia. The guide was published by the University, but the University is no longer a publisher. Most of the contributors are no longer with us, and a source in the Department was not able to suggest anyone to approach for permission to use the contents of the book. If any interested party objects to things I extract, I will, of course, remove it from this site. Click on the cover of the guide and you will be taken to a page which has links to downloadable chapters from the guide book. These can be printed out and taken with you to enlighten your excursions. I am told that a new guide will be published soon by, I believe, the University of the West of England. I hope it will be as good as Savage’s book. There also exists “Geological Sites of the Bristol Region” which is not an excursion guide but a description of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Regionally Important Geololgical/Geomorphological Sites (RIGS) in the area. |  |