GeologyRocks

Hi Jenny

Welcome to Geologyrocks.  If you want any specific information then just ask away.  There's currently a small group of us active on the site who seem to have virtually all the bases covered.

Hey!

thank you :-)  Are you all professional geologists, or just enthusiasts? I hope I won't come across as too ignorant on here!

Hello Jenny,

Welcome to GR! I think most of us have some theoretical or practical knowledge of geology for a number of different reasons. Personally, I studied BSc Environmental Science at the University of Wolverhampton, although it wasn't the only place that would have me, it meant I could be lazy and live at home - I've never been wealthier than when I was a student! But I digress. The degree involved various elements of geology amongst other Earth Science aspects.

Gus - Well, nobody is sure about Gus; legend has it that he fell from the heavens like a burning meteor, slammed into the earth, and simply stepped out from the wreckage! Wherever he's from I guess they had caves, because he likes his speleology. But I'm sure he'll set the story straight...

John, another regular member, I think is a qualified geologist - but again, he's best letting you know any specific details himself.

Regards,

Ben. 

Not so much descended to earth like a burning meteor, more like tripped over a boulder and fell down a hole in the ground.

I'm the one without any formal geology background but I've worked as a miner and have nearly 50 years of underground exploration behind me plus a long-suffering wife who doesn't mind combined geology/wildlife holidays in the UK.  I've always been fascinated by the subject(s) but don't ask me anything too technical as I probably won't know the answer and leave that side of things to my more knowledgeable colleagues.  I can identify stuff fairly well though.

Lol I love the legends about Gus.  And it's great to know how passionate you all are about the subject.  It's a shame how few people genuinely love what they do.  I wouldn't worry about too many overly technical questions from me though, as I sadly know far too little about geology, which is why I'm here!  I loved identifying rock samples and fossils at school and went on a couple of official field trips, but I've travelled around almost everywhere in Britain and have always been fascinated by anything historical, geological and wildlife also.  I once scaled Mam Tor by one of its steep grassy sides, clinging to tufts of grass for support.  But I didn't know it was once a carboniferous reef, which now makes the climb seem even more worthwhile!  I did, however, realise just how beautiful the columnar jointing was on Staffa when I visited.  I'd just learned about that at school and to see it in reality was stunning.

Have any of you had really special moments being in awe of geology or favourite memories of field trips etc?

The most awesome thing I've ever seen was underground in Gaping Gill in the Yorkshire Dales about 35 years ago.  The Main Shaft is the highest single drop waterfall in Britain at 365ft with Main Chamber at the bottom which is big enough to hold St Paul's Cathedral. There are also several other entrances which connect to 12 miles of caverns.  On this particular occasion there had been several days of really heavy rain plus meltwater from the recent snows and we decided to go into the cave by the only dry entrance, Bar Pot.  At the bottom there's a lot of crawling to get to the Main Chamber at the foot of the Main Shaft and we were astounded at the gale-force wind blowing through the passages.  When we eventually arrived in the main Chamber we were greeted by a lake 30ft deep which occupied the entire chamber floor (normally there's just a shallow stream) and eleven waterfalls falling from the huge faultline in the roof, each about 150ft high, plus the main Shaft waterfall itself which formed a solid column of water 40ft in diameter.

The following weekend, when all the water had subsided, we did another trip into the cave.  The Main Chamber had water sinking into the floor in a totally different place to normal, a house-sized boulder had slumped 20ft at an acute angle into the floor, and a shaft 70ft deep had opened up against one wall.  We descended the latter through massive unstable boulders but it didn't lead anywhere.  It disappeared again about two weeks later.

The most amazing demonstration of the power of nature I think I've ever seen.

That sounds truly incredible!  I especially love what water can do to the earth, although potholing and exploring caves is always a bit scary for me!  Unless the entrances are walkable.  I'd love to see a cenote at some point. as well  My parents went to Mexico for their honeymoon and got to see one there.  They sound magical.

I have to say, you do know how to write.  That was a fantastic description!

For me it would be either the petrified forest of Lesvos, or the lava tubes of Cueva de los Verdes in Lanzarote.

The former is the largest petrified forest in the world, with a great many tree trunks still in situ, and the preservation is indeed, just awesome!

The latter, quite simply made me feel truly humble. The scale of the tubes is amazing, and they even extend under the sea.

That said nothing can beat the buzz, that little tingle down your spine, of splitting open a good old British rock, and knowing that you're the first human being ever to look at the fossil which is sat there. And there's always the promise of discovering something new to science! - In fact, I'm sure I remember Gus saying once that he had a cave shrimp named after him? (Albeit that was extant, and not a fossil).

Ben. 

I Googled the lava tubes and yes that is stunning!  It reminds me of Harrison's Cave on Barbados.  The waterfall there, though not terribly high, was pretty beautiful and the cave was eerily lit like the pictures I've seen of Lanzarote.

Just had a revision session of the different kinds of lavas, so thank you for bringing it up

Yes, it was called Gustrophorus horsleyensiestisii and there was only one specimen known which unfortunately became lodged in my wetsuit and was inadvertently squashed when I took it off.  So it's never been verified in established scientific circles.

Oh my, what a sticky end to come to! I can see it now, in the history books of the future: Gus Horsley - The one man extinction event!

There was also a banana in the same wetsuit which migrated from the zip at the front, round the back and ended up under one armpit.  It might have been responsible for the demise of the shrimp as they probably crossed paths somewhere on a tour of the interior of the neoprene.  There's a moral there.

I'm seeing how much I can get away with before I get a PM telling me my attitude isn't serious enough

Hey guys ! This is Syed from india.. Join me too in your Gang !

Hello Syed 

Welcome to the Gr gang! 

We're not all mad....but it helps.

 "Hello Florence and Zebedee" - said Dougal.

"Oh 'ello Dougal" - said Florence and Zebedee

(Jasper Carrotts 'Magic Roundabout' circa 1974). I won't print the rest.

Well, its nice to see new member flocking in, and I've only been off here a few days - been at the Battle of Tewksbury.

Now Jenny, although minerals are 'my thing', I have a friend who has actually studied gemology (did a course in Wells some years ago, and spent a lot of years prospecting in Zimbabwe, and had a small gold mine out there for a while).  He's not on this site unfortunately, so if you have any specific gemmy questions I will pass them on to Dave. He is very knowledgable.  

About 10 -12 years ago he phoned me from Zim and asked me to try and get investors for an alexandrite mine, which was producing rather ordinary quality stones, but occassionally a gem quality would turn up (cut these are worth between £3000 and £5000 a carat!).  Apparently a guy out there had a series of gold mines in one part of the country and this alexandrite mine at the other end, which he wanted to sell because he simply couldn't keep control of it. He wanted £50,000.  Dave was going in, under licence, to take out a ton of rock and break it down.  What he found would be taken to Harare and assayed, but once it had been assayed it had to be public knowledge, which mean that the money had to be available that very minute.

Sadly it is incredibly hard to get hard nosed business people to invest in a hole in the ground.  I think I managed to get a promise of £10,000.  I even went to the father of one of the 'Dragons' (who shall remain nameless) who I know reasonably well.  Not interested, and he wouldn't have noticed the whole £50K going.

So someone else did the deed, and after they owned it they went down another 20 fathoms and pulled out around 30 kilos of gem quality material.  You do the sums!  An absolute fortune.

Clearly we were not destined to be multi millionaires at that point.  Which reminds me - I must check my Euromillions lottery ticket from last night....cos the nice man in the shop promised me that was the winning ticket and only charged me £20 for it.  Isn't that nice?  So I should have £166 million today.

Very good field trip last evening, right across the three escarpments - starting with Lyneham Banks and finishing at Hackpen Hill ...... OK if I'm honest - finishing in the pub.

John

“Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” -  Will Durant

I've removed a post from this thread that was inexplicably submitted as spam, and was causing subsequent posting problems for that user. I hope the thread as a whole is still understandable!

I didn't see any spam.  But it is a good idea to get rid of it.

John

“Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice.” -  Will Durant

Nope it wasn't spam John, that's the point, but it was submitted as such. It was causing problems for the original poster, hopefully deleting it will have sorted the problem.

Thanks so much John for this information.  Very helpful.  Haven't replied sooner as I was having issues replying threads which now seems to have righted itself (wonder if I've just cursed my new good luck lol).  Incidentally, I believe I was the alleged spammer.    Not sure what the site and my computer were thinking.  Gremlins in the machine or something darker???

LOL think I posted the same message twice.  I'll surely get done for spamming after that!!