Just some odds and ends
Posted: Sunday, 03 August 2008 |
Been quite busy of late so not much stuff to report. The geology trips for my Bunessan class are finished now - many thanks to all of you - hope you got something out of it. I certainly enjoyed showing you around! There are acouple of pics just coming up
Also, there was a serious contrast in the weather between Friday and Saturday. The rain on Friday was something else - I had to travel down to Iona for the day and the journey was far from pleasant - parts of the road were seriosuly flooded..
Really bad news for the Bunessan Show. Afterwards it was easy to see that the show field was a mud bath.
But on Saturday afternoon, the weather was great - I was working most of the day but had a quick sprint down to Loch Buie for a wander. Pics to follow.
See y'all soon
PS: Barney, sorry to have missed you - I was away all that day. Maybe next year!
Basalt Columns in Ulva, two weeks ago - one of the field trips
A granite boulder looking rather out of place - ship ballast maybe? Who knows?
Another view of the columns from the shore
Serious amounts of water pouring off the hills above Loch Sguabain on Friday morning
On Saturday, Ben Buie from near Moy Castle
Moy Castle, covered in scaffolding as restoration work continues
Also near Loch Buie is this rock which is said to look a bit like Queen Victoria in profile.
Looking across Loch Uisg on a nice sunny Saturday afternoon
Also, there was a serious contrast in the weather between Friday and Saturday. The rain on Friday was something else - I had to travel down to Iona for the day and the journey was far from pleasant - parts of the road were seriosuly flooded..
Really bad news for the Bunessan Show. Afterwards it was easy to see that the show field was a mud bath.
But on Saturday afternoon, the weather was great - I was working most of the day but had a quick sprint down to Loch Buie for a wander. Pics to follow.
See y'all soon
PS: Barney, sorry to have missed you - I was away all that day. Maybe next year!
Basalt Columns in Ulva, two weeks ago - one of the field trips
A granite boulder looking rather out of place - ship ballast maybe? Who knows?
Another view of the columns from the shore
Serious amounts of water pouring off the hills above Loch Sguabain on Friday morning
On Saturday, Ben Buie from near Moy Castle
Moy Castle, covered in scaffolding as restoration work continues
Also near Loch Buie is this rock which is said to look a bit like Queen Victoria in profile.
Looking across Loch Uisg on a nice sunny Saturday afternoon
Comments
Hi MM - know what you mean about the weather - very hard to predict what to wear or where to go even without taking the whole wardrobe with you! I can definately see Queen Vic in the Loch Buie rock - brilliant - if I was a royalist "Royalty Rocks!" sorry groan"! must be loads of one liners for that one. Love the basalt
Wild Freckle from Mull - in the sun briefly!
Yet another comment flushed down the Spam Fritter...trying again...7 down very like Queen Vicky but maybe the nose is a bit too retroussé; however the embonpoint is about right...
Flying Cat from wondering where Lost Comments go
MM, thanks for a nother nice blog. Queen Victoria has worn well since her passing away. I was sorry to miss you, too, but we'll keep working on it - although just now my enthusiasm for sailing in Scotland has been dampened somewhat, However, I expect it will dry out and pretty soon at that. We left Tobermoray for a great evening off Carna (thanks for the recommendation, Squidgy!), then next day to Gometra harbour, from whence an early start put us off Staffa at 0830, the hook was down with an extra weight for safety, we got ashore and into the cave without anouther tourist even on the horizon! The visit was cut short by NE wind blowing up so qhickly back to the boat and on to Iona and an evening anchorage in the secret cove on Ardanalish. Saw an eagle there.
Barney from Swithiod at last
MM, how can basalt columns get twisted into strange non-linear formations? I assume that they always form in straight up-and--down columns and then get twisted. But some formations - e.g. the "clamshell" at the landing place on Staffa - sort splay out from a focus. Twisting and sliding at the same time?? Hope you know 'cos this is keeping me awake at nights.
Banrey from Swithiod basal basalt query
Barney, Its a very good question why some are curved. Best explanation I have found is this one: http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/depo/dpgeol8.html which deals with the "Devils Postpile" - a columnar structure in California. Coumns are always formed a right angles to the cooling surfaces and it appears that water is an important part of the process. If the lava was cooling in a gorge or valley type scenario, as opposed to a level surface, then the columns will not be vertical. In some dykes, columnar jointing is found and it occurs horizontally. The whole subject is fascinating and I dont think it is still properly understood. A paper was published several years ago in an Australian journal called ""The origin of columnar jointing, particularly in basalt flows" (Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, vol 8 1962) but I havent read the paper. It runs to 25 pages so presumably it is pretty thorough... It's a source of constant frustration, actually, the amount of scholarly material that is "locked away" in journals. Unless you have access to a University library, one simply cannot get to this sort of info unless you pay a fortune for it to purchase copies online. (Rant over!)
MM from Mull
Very interesting link, MM. Clearly chemical composition has an effect as well as purely physical factors. What a wonderful world!
Barney from Swithiod studiously
Exploring the hills and coasts of Mull and Iona and occasionally elsewhere, with a close eye on the geology
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