THE WHIN SILL Quartz-Dolerite, Dark in Colour

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The rock itself is mainly fine to medium-grained THE WHIN SILL quartz-dolerite, dark in colour. It is tough stuff Alan Gill and makes excellent road stone. You may well have driven on it. One of the many interesting geological features in the north of England is the Whin Sill. This is essentially a subterranean layer of igneous rock underlying much of Northumberland, north east Cumbria, along the Pennine escarpment and in Teesdale. Its area is estimated to be at least 5000 sq km. The maximum thickness recorded is 75m but the average is between 25m and 50m. In many places the intrusion separates into two or more layers divided by several hundred metres induced by joint and fault planes. There are dykes associated with the Whin Sill forming together one single petrographic province. It is possible that these were the conduits through which the magma flowed prior to solidification. The proximity of the sill to the Carboniferous Limestone Series led some geologists to conclude that the sill originated as a contemporaneous lava flow. Sedgwick however advocated its Fig 2: High Force on the River Tees showing the intrusive origin as early as 1826, and was proved vertical structure of the Whin Sill resting on the right later in 1870. It was the subject, of pioneer horizontal Tynebottom Limestone. isotopic age determination by Arthur Holmes. The evidence suggests that the Whin Sill was intruded in late Carboniferous Times; an age of 295 +/- 6my has been computed. There are many good outcrops; the sea cliffs of the Farne Islands - the Romans saw a good thing when they built their wall along the north facing escarpments. It provides sound foundations for both Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles; it forms waterfalls on the River Tees like Cauldron Snout (Fig 1) and High Force (Fig 2); and on the Pennines the impressive High Cup Nick (Fig 3); Fig 3:High Cup Nick all worth a visit. The columnar jointing is well displayed. Castle on Whin Sill Fig 1: Cauldron Snout Photographs by Alan Gill 44 Journal of the Bath Geological Society, No. 28, 2008 .

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