Design, Print: Angus Council Print & Design Unit Design & Print Council Angus Print: Design,
L. Booth L.
a charity registered in Scotland : Charity No. SC008011 No. Charity : Scotland in registered charity a
Tayside Geodiversity is affiliated to the Edinburgh Geological Society, Society, Geological Edinburgh the to affiliated is Geodiversity Tayside
Law. Thank you Grandad.” you Thank Law.
““Still greatly missed, many thanks for all the happy hours up the up hours happy the all for thanks many missed, greatly ““Still
memory of Mr John Scobie of Lawside Road. Lawside of Scobie John Mr of memory
weather badly. weather This leaflet was produced in the the in produced was leaflet This
stone to flake and flake to stone
mica that causes the causes that mica
www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk/geodiversity
is very rich in the mineral the in rich very is
quality. Some sandstone Some quality.
T: 01738 632488 01738 T:
sandstones of variable of sandstones
78 George Street, Perth, PH1 5LB PH1 Perth, Street, George 78 provided grey provided
c/o Perth Museum Perth c/o Invergowrie. These Invergowrie.
Tayside Geodiversity Tayside and Kingoodie at Kingoodie and
Carmyllie near Carnoustie near Carmyllie and professionals to continue this work, then please contact: please then work, this continue to professionals and
local quarries such as such quarries local If you would like to join a small group of dedicated amateurs dedicated of group small a join to like would you If
from stone obtained from obtained stone from
Ferry and Seaton Cliffs at Arbroath. at Cliffs Seaton and Ferry
expanded. They are built are They expanded.
Balkello Hill in the Sidlaws, Stannergate Shore near Broughty near Shore Stannergate Sidlaws, the in Hill Balkello
force as the city the as force
develop these sites. Other Local Geodiversity Sites include Sites Geodiversity Local Other sites. these develop
rapidly growing work growing rapidly
Region’s rich geological heritage. It also aims to conserve and conserve to aims also It heritage. geological rich Region’s
The tenement buildings of Dundee were built to house a house to built were Dundee of buildings tenement The
Local Geodiversity Sites to increase public awareness of the of awareness public increase to Sites Geodiversity Local
3. Dundee Tenements Dundee 3.
Tayside Geodiversity aims to identify and publicise a network of network a publicise and identify to aims Geodiversity Tayside
primitive fish, crustaceans and plants. and crustaceans fish, primitive and its geology. geology. its and
Fossils have been found in these mudstones including mudstones these in found been have Fossils that people can visit to learn more about their local landscape local their about more learn to visit can people that
and have been extensively quarried, particularly in Angus. in particularly quarried, extensively been have and
Dundee Law is a Local Geodiversity Site. This means it is a place a is it means This Site. Geodiversity Local a is Law Dundee
The Lower Devonian mudstones make good paving stones paving good make mudstones Devonian Lower The
About Local Geodiversity Sites (LGS) Sites Geodiversity Local About
2. Paving Stones from Mud from Stones Paving 2.
weather. This is called spheroidal or “onion-skin” weathering. weathering. “onion-skin” or spheroidal called is This weather.
the Dundee War Memorial. War Dundee the
to expose fresh surfaces which, in their turn, are attacked by attacked are turn, their in which, surfaces fresh expose to
A85
Railway Station Railway
a direction indicator and indicator direction a 500m and frost continues to decompose the outer skin of the rock the of skin outer the decompose to continues frost and
information boards, boards, information
are also vertical joints with some brown iron staining. Rain staining. iron brown some with joints vertical also are
Tay Bridge Tay
Centre
walkway, illustrated walkway,
rock (magma) cooled into crude polygonal columns. There columns. polygonal crude into cooled (magma) rock
City
Angus
Station includes a balustrade and balustrade a includes Coupar
examined from the road that leads to the top. The molten The top. the to leads that road the from examined
Bus
Lochee Rd A923 Rd Lochee
Ferry The summit complex summit The
The old quarry is on the north side of the Law and can be can and Law the of side north the on is quarry old The Broughty
at the end of Law Road. Law of end the at
stone for building. for stone
on the summit of the Law the of summit the on
Kinghorn Rd Kinghorn
A929 Hilltown B960 Hilltown reinforcing a as quarried was andesite The type. rock common
There are parking spaces parking are There
Water Tower Water
after the Andes Mountains in South America where it is a very a is it where America South in Mountains Andes the after
Hill St Hill
War Memorial War
Dundee Law Dundee
Allotments lower slopes. slopes. lower
BGS named is Andesite.Andesite
Open Space Open
through woods on the on woods through Law is made of a rock called rock a of made is Law
From the roads around the hill, well-maintained paths lead paths well-maintained hill, the around roads the From The igneous intrusion of the of intrusion igneous The
direction, except from the north where there are rocky outcrops. rocky are there where north the from except direction, 1. Quarrying the Law the Quarrying 1.
east end of the Law. The Law can be easily climbed from any from climbed easily be can Law The Law. the of end east
A Local Geodiversity Site Geodiversity Local A Using the Rocks the Using This can be reached from Hill Street or Kinghorne Road at the at Road Kinghorne or Street Hill from reached be can This
DUNDEE LAW DUNDEE It is possible to drive to the top of Dundee Law via Law Road. Law via Law Dundee of top the to drive to possible is It
Location and Access and Location minerals in the Andesite. the in minerals A microscopic view of the of view microscopic A
DUNDEE LAW A Local Geodiversity Site Tracey Dixon
The conical grassy slopes of Dundee Law are a well The War Wells and Springs known and dramatic landmark, dominating the Memorial In Dundee “Rockwell”, “Butterburn”, “The Ladywell”, Ninewells” skyline from many areas of the City of Dundee. It is and “Wellgate” are all familiar names but many people do not realise that they refer to natural wells and springs where water only 572 feet (174 metres) high but the view from the The Dundee War Memorial is the most obvious feature on comes to the surface. Water flowing through permeable summit of the Law is uninterrupted in all directions the summit of the Law. It sandstone may be forced to the surface when it encounters an making it a spectacular location on a clear day. was completed in 1925 and impermeable igneous rock intrusion. Similarly water flowing through glacial till may come to the surface as a spring or well if The prominence and shape of the Law is the result of the architect was Thomas Braddock of Wimbledon. It has massive bronze doors and it comes up against igneous rock or even a less permeable layer a long history that began with massive river floods stands on a base of light grey Cornwall granite. A beacon is lit of sandstone or mudstone. Water can flow through cracks and violent volcanic eruptions some 415 million years on several significant days - 25 September (the Battle of Loos (known as joints) in igneous rocks but these can also channel ago. The story of how the dramatic origins of the 1914); 24th October (United Nations Day); 11 November water to the surface again forming springs. Dundee area helped to shape the character of both (Armistice Day) and on Remembrance Sunday. During the early industrial development of Dundee, running the Law and the City of Dundee is told in this leaflet. water was used both for power and for the treatment of textiles. The first factories followed the courses of the Scouring In October 2000 Dundee Law was designated a Local The Law Tunnel Burn to the West Port, Geodiversity Site. and of the Dens In the 1820s, a 300 metre long and 3 metre diameter tunnel Burn to near was driven through the “tail” of rock and boulder clay on the the East Port. eastern side of the Law. It carried the Dundee to Newtyle People and the Law railway. This was one of the earliest powered railways in People have been using the Law for thousands of years. Burials Scotland. The tunnel was in use until the 1860s when the dating from the Bronze Age, 3,500 years ago, have been found railway was rerouted. The location of on the hill. A steatite (soapstone) cup-shaped lamp of Iron Age the tunnel is still marked on modern date has been found. During the Iron Age the summit area was maps, running from Kinghorne Road to levelled and a defensive parapet erected. Some fragments of just short of Byron Street. reasonably fine Roman Samian ware pottery have been unearthed. One of them appears to be a fragment of an ink-pot. The Law Tunnel southern entrance is clearly seen here. The wooden building on the left stands where the Engine House stood.
Tracey Dixon Making of the Law
mudsdsmdsum
sandssdsnan
sandsedna ds & pebblesp lebb Lower Devonian
1. Deserts and Floods About 415 million years ago during the Lower Devonian geological period, the site of Dundee was in the interior of a large continent called Laurentia. The climate was hot and dry with seasonal floods. During the floods, rivers left masses of sand and gravel that now form grey to brown sandstone in the Dundee area. Similarly, muddy sediments, laid down in rivers or in shallow lakes now form mudstones.
sillslis lslss
sillslslis
2. Volcanoes StrathmoreSetart terohm TayTay y Volcanic activity during the Lower Devonian erupted thick layers of lava onto the river and lake sediments. Some magma (molten rock) did not erupt at the surface but solidified underground. These are known as igneous intrusions. Dundee Law is formed from one of these igneous SidlawsSsdlai wdla NorthroN thr intrusions. The volcanic activity was associated with the final closure of an FifeFife ancient ocean called the Iapetus Ocean, which previously separated Scotland and England.
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3. Tilting and Erosion Over the millions of years since the Lower Devonian earth movements CCRAGAGRC have tilted. folded and faulted the layers of rock in the Dundee area and erosion has exposed rocks that were once deeply buried. AbrasionononisabrA pgppluckingnickulp TTailaail Ice Age RckRocko DebrisriebD s
4. Ice Age During the Ice Age which began around 2.6 million years ago, a succession of ice-sheets flowed from the west. The hard lavas and igneous intrusions resisted the erosive power of the ice better than the softer sandstones and Present day Dundee Law mudstones. The ice sheets moved over the Law and the ice was so thick that it covered the top by several hundreds of metres. The ice sheet excavated deep troughs in the sedimentary rocks to the north and south, while the igneous intrusion of the Law remained as a high point. The western slope 5. After the Ice of the law, exposed to the full force of the ice-flow, is steep, but the After the ice sheets finally melted, eastern side, protected by the crag, is a “tail” made of softer glacial debris around 15,000 years ago, soil and plants known as till. gradually returned to cover the slopes. The volcanic rock and glacial till of the Law now produces fertile soil, which is good news for those with allotments on the lower slopes.
View overlooking Sidlaws from Law Hill. Gordon.Milligan