Welcome to the South West Branch of the Open University Geological Society
If you have any comments about these pages or find any errors please email the branch
Web Manager. Should you wish to reproduce any of this material (and we'd be flattered if you felt it was worthy) then please contact the Branch Organiser or Web Manager and we will contact the author of the article and request a text document for you. Contact details for the branch committee can be found by following the link in the menu to the left of this page.
Lift-sharing contacts list
To assist anyone struggling for transport to events, and to encourage responsible transport use, we are compiling a list of members willing to offer lifts to events. It is in the ‘Membership Services’ section to protect privacy. If you are willing to be added to the list, either permanently or for a single event, please contact Jon Kelsey on
swe.webmanager@ougs.org. At the moment it looks a bit forlorn with just 2 names!
Some aspects of South West geology. Click the photos to enlarge:
The South West region has arguably some of the most diverse assemblages of geological features in the UK. The region is dominated by the granite outcrops of Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and Lands End, relics of the orogeny of 300 million years ago. The rich mineralisation that came with the granite made this area home to extensive tin, lead, silver and copper mining industries and the relics are still widely distributed.
To the south lie the Lizard Peninsula Ophiolite and the Start complex with their heavily metamorphosed rocks and igneous intrusions.
The central parts of Devon are principally Carboniferous sandstone and mudstone ‘culm’ measures and on the north coasts of Cornwall and Devon the effects of plate movements are displayed in the contortion of these beds, representing some of the finest exposures of chevron folding anywhere in the world.
To the east the geology is principally that of a desert laid down in Permian times with outcrops of red sand dunes and breccias formed of materials weathered of the mountains that once buried Dartmoor. Further east on the Dorset and Somerset borders are rich Triassic and Jurassic fossil beds and Cretaceous chalks.
The South West Branch runs events both at home and abroad, which have included trips to Tenerife, South-East Spain and the Alps. Some of the home and away events are reported on the Branch Trip Résumés page.
Non-members, members of other societies and members of other branches are most welcome at any of the events; details are posted on the events page or can be found in the National Newsletter.
All material © South West Branch of Open University Geological Society.
Contact the branch organiser to request permission to use any materials.
