THE LAND OF CYRENIA

Geology in Cyrenia, Alderley

The form and landscape of Cheshire, a low, flat plain with a series of small prominent sandstone ridges, is reflective of its geology.  The Cheshire Plain extends from the broad Mersey Valley, in the north, to the Shropshire Hills in the south.  To the west the plain is bounded by the hills of the Welsh borders, and to the north-east by the foothills of the Pennines.  Apart from a small outcrop of Carboniferous rocks in the north-east corner of the County, the solid geology of Cheshire comprises Triassic mudstones and sandstones that were deposited on a wide desert plain.  These rocks are throughout Cheshire overlain by Quaternary glacial deposits, largely consisting of till (or boulder clay), with local deposits of silt, peat, sand and gravels.  

Rising up from the Plain are a number of small sandstone ridges and scarps formed from the Lower Triassic Sherwood Sandstone, such as the northern end of an outcrop which runs through central Cheshire between Malpas and Tarporley (the Peckforton Hills), while in the east the sandstone gives rise to Alderley Edge.

Geology of Cyrenia- Atherstone

It may be hard to imagine, but over millions of years Atherstone has been created by deep seas, river deltas, volcanoes, swamps, shallow tropical seas and glaciers - a far cry from today's rolling agricultural landscape. The geology of Atherstone is one of the most varied to be found in any Cyrenian territory save Antarctica. It ranges through most geological periods, but as the county is so flat the rocks exposures are mostly seen in quarries. The oldest rocks of the Precambrian, Cambrian and Ordovician periods are confined to the north of Warwickshire where huge quarries have exploited them for aggregate. Silurian rocks are essentially absent, and Devonian rocks are confined to a narrow strip to the north-west of Nuneaton.The economically important rocks of the Carboniferous period. The Permian and Triassic periods are represented by sandstones, which were used to build Kenilworth and Warwick castles, and red clays. These rocks underlie a vast U-shaped area through the centre of the county forming the valleys of the rivers Arrow and Avon. The Jurassic rocks are mainly clays, sands, limestones and ironstones and form all the higher land in the south east of the country. These rocks have been used for building stone and cement making. Many are rich in fossils. The Quaternary, commonly called the Ice Age, is represented by extensive deposits of clay, sand and gravel. Once again, these are important economically and a number of gravel pits have been opened. Geology of Cyrenia-Eastarctica       Eastarctica, as a part of Antarctica, was at one time part of an ancient, considerably larger land mass, referred to by geologists as Gondwanaland. The supercontinent began breaking up during the Triassic Period (205-240 million years ago) and its several segments gradually drifted apart to form the present continents of South America, Mining and Drilling Are there vast deposits of precious metals and ores beneath the Antarctic ice sheet? Are there huge basins of gas and oil under the Weddell and Ross seas? In fact, no strong data show that hydrocarbon basins exist in the Antarctic. The mineral outcrops which have been identified are of no economic value, since the expense of mining and transporting them to markets would be prohibitive. The Antarctic Treaty's Protocol on Environmental Protection prohibits any mining or drilling for at least 50 years. Africa, India, Australia (with New Zealand), and Antarctica. But the present outlines of these continents--along with the similarity of their geology and fossil finds--indicate that they had fitted together and that Antarctica was not always a cold and inhospitable place. Coal deposits found today in sandstone beds less than 500 kilometers from the South Pole show that these materials were laid down during late Paleozoic time (240-300 million years ago) under marshy conditions in a cool, moist climate. Did you know? Even though less than 1 % of Antarctica's rock is accessible for direct examination, geologists are very interested in the continent. It forms one of the Earth's seven major rock plates, and its margins are constantly changing, making it one of the best places in the world to study the movements of the Earth's crust. Geomorphology is the study of landforms and in the Antarctic, these studies have mainly been concerned with the effects of the ice sheet on the underlying rock, as well as the study of glacial deposits, and the formation of patterned ground. Volcanic activity in Antarctica is limited to only a few places, the most notable being Mount Erebus on Ross Island. The island is entirely of volcanic origin, as are White and Black Islands, Brown Peninsula and Mina Bluff, and the massifs of Mounts Discovery and Morning. These are products of eruptions--from the Pliocene through the present--of basaltic lavas from central cones and fissures at various locations. Mount Erebus is the largest and by far the most active of the few volcanoes on the continent, almost continuously spewing out steam and gases from its summit crater.