The Ancient Volcanoes of Great Britain, Volume 1 (of 2)Geikie, Archibald
History
The Ancient Volcanoes of Great Britain, Volume 1 (of 2)
Geikie, Archibald
Volcanoes -- Great Britain
There appear to have been at least three principal groups of vents.
One may be indicated by the bands of "felspathic trap" which have been
mapped as extending from near St. Lawrence for fourteen miles to the
east. Another must have existed in the neighbourhood of Fishguard. A
third is shown to have lain between Abereiddy Bay and Mathry, by the
abundant bands of lava and tuff and intrusive sills there to be seen.
Of these areas the only one which has yet been examined and described
in some detail is that of Fishguard, of which an account has recently
been published by Mr. Cowper Reed.[185] This observer has shown that
the eruptions began there during the deposition of the Lower Llandeilo
rocks, and continued intermittently into the Bala period. The earliest
consisted of felsites and tuffs intercalated between Lower Llandeilo
black slates containing _Didymograptus Murchisoni_, the tuffs
themselves being sometimes fossiliferous. A second great volcanic belt,
composed of felsitic lavas, breccias and tuffs, lies at the base of the
Upper Llandeilo strata and shows the maximum of volcanic energy. The
breccias are partly coarse agglomerates, which probably represent, or
lie not far from, some of the eruptive vents of the time. A higher band
of lavas and breccias appears to be referable to the Bala formation.
The whole volcanic series is stated to thin out towards the south-west,
so that the chief focus of eruption probably lay somewhere in the
neighbourhood of Fishguard.
[Footnote 185: _Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc._ vol. li. (1895), p. 149.]
The lavas may all be included under the general term felsite. Their
specific gravity ranges from 2·60 to 2·76, and their silica percentage
from 68 to 72. Mr. Cowper Reed observed among them three conspicuous
types of structure. Some are characterized by a distinct arrangement in
fine light and dark bands which rapidly alternate, and are sometimes
thrown into folds and convolutions. A second structure, observed only
at one locality, consists in the development of pale grey or whitish
ovate nodules, about half an inch in length, with a clear quartz-grain
in their centre, or else hollow. The third type is shown by the
appearance of perlitic structure on the weathered surface.[186]
[Footnote 186: Mr. Cowper Reed enters into a detailed account of the
microscopic structures and chemical composition of these rocks. They
have rather a high percentage of alumina, potash and soda, and are
obviously akin to the keratophyres of other districts.]
The tuffs and breccias are chiefly developed at the base and top of
each volcanic group. Some of them contain highly vesicular fragments,
as well as pieces of slate and broken crystals of quartz and felspar.
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