The Tertiary Basalt–plateaux of North–western Europe

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Introduction. Since the publication, seven years ago, of my memoir on ‘The History of Volcanic Action during the Tertiary Period in the British Isles’, I have continued the investigation of this subject. My researches in this interval have included a re-examination of various tracts in Mull, Rum, Reassay, and Skye; and numerous traverses in the last-named island, especially over areas which had not been previously described by any geologist; a detailed survey of Canna and its adjacent islets; an exploration of the Shiant Isles and other insular outliers of the Tertiary sills, and a visit St. Kilda for the purpose of accurately determining the relations of its two great, groups of igneous rocks. In two successive years I have prolonged my excursions into the Faroe Islands, where the phenomena of of our basaltic plateaux are reproduced on a colossal scale, and where the numerous fjords and sounds have laid bare the most stupendous range of geological sections. This extended series observations, while entirely confirming the main conclusions announced in my former memoir, has furnished many fresh and important illustrations of phenomena already described, and some new interesting additions to our knowledge of the volcanic history of Tertiary time over the North-west of Europe. I now lay before the Society an outline of the chief results which have thus been obtained. As the literature of the subject was fully summarized in my former memoir, it need not be further referred to here. Such more recent papers as bear on any of

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: