RIGS Geology Action

Text and images from the North Berwick leaflet, produced in 2003 by Geology Action, 1st Musselburgh Guides and 1st Longniddry Guides.

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There are different kinds of basalt found at North Berwick: Olivine rich basalt - olivine is a mineral found down deep in the earth. Vesicular basalt - vesicular means that it has many holes inside it caused by bubbles trapped in the lava when it came out of the volcano. Mugerite - this is a pale grey in colour. Another rock found is tuff and this is volcanic ash which has been erupted from the volcano, over lots and lots of years it has hardened into rock. Ellen Whillans

Volcanoes are developed by rock that is so hot it melts and is called magma. The diagram shows the different ways that the molten magma flows and how it forms different features. Kirsty Capaldi & Gemma Baxter

If you go to North Berwick you can find lots of different colours of rocks such as volcanic ash which is either red or green, lava flow which is black, bubbly lava which is purple, sandstone which is grey and schist which is also grey. Lorna Nicoll

Berwick Law is composed of igneous rock formed during the Carboniferous period (340 mya). This area was the site of many volcanic eruptions and the Law is the result of the mouth of the volcano being choked with its own molten lava forming a plug when extinct. The Bass Rock is also a plug of a volcano. Below shows what the volcano may have looked like 340 million years ago. Kirsty Capaldi & Gemma Baxter	The Scottish Seabird Centre is next to the harbour and was opened by Prince Charles in June 2000. The birds that can be seen on the Bass Rock are gulliemots, kittiwakes and gannets. On Fidra, razorbills and puffins can be seen. Rachael Capaldi & Lyndsay Brash	The Seabird Centre has a lot of information on seabirds and shows with a web cam how they catch fish and what species live on each island. You can see through a telescope the Isle of May, Isle of Fidra and the Bass Rock but you can also see the islands on special cameras. There is an education centre where you can learn more about the birds on the islands. My favourite part of the seabird centre is playing the game which teaches you about trying to protect the birds. Jamie Arthur Over thirty skeletons were found on the site of the old St Andrew's graveyard, which is now the walkway to the main entrance of the Seabird Centre. The skeletons date back to the 7th Century. Rachael Capaldi & Lyndsay Brash
		How to get there: From the East take the A198 to North Berwick leaving the A1 at Belhaven near Dunbar. From Haddington take the A6137 (off the A1) to Aberlady, then take the A198 to North Berwick. From the West take the A198 to North Berwick leaving the A1 at Bankton roundabout near Prestonpans. Follow signs to the Scottish Seabird Centre. Lorna Nicoll

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