Local Geology
Glossary
This is a very brief glossary of some of the terms used in the introduction to the local geology; it is by no means a complete reference.
Anglian stage: an early ice age in Britain; approximately 444 thousand years ago
Cambrian: period in geological time within the lower Palaeozoic; between approximately 600 and 500 million years ago
Carboniferous: period in geological time within the upper Palaeozoic; between approximately 345 and 280 million years ago
Devensian: the most recent ice age in Britain; between approximately 116 and 10 thousand years ago - appears to correlate with Weichselian and Wurm glacials in continental Europe
Horst
Horst: upthrown area between two parallel faults
Ice age: climatic period of net accumulation of ice sheets
Jurassic: period in geological time within the Mesozoic; between approximately 195 and 135 million years ago
Overconsolidated: conditions in which the present stress in the soil is less than some past value
Palaeozoic: era in geological time following the Precambrian; between approximately 600 and 225 million years ago
Periglacial: seasonally snow-free conditions in zone extending approximately 200km from ice front; characterised by tundra conditions & intense frost action. Disturbance may be due to features such as frost heave; cryoturbation; pingos; thermokarst; solifluction; ice wedges
Permafrost: zone of soil which remains frozen all year round
Permian: most recent period in geological time within the Palaeozoic; between approximately 280 and 225 million years ago
Pleistocene: period in geological time immediately preceding the present (or Holocene) period; between approximately 2 million and 10 thousand years ago
Till: unsorted soils deposited by direct glacial action - also known as boulder clay
Triassic: oldest period in geological time within the Mesozoic; between approximately 225 and 195 million years ago
Unconformably: such that a break in the depositional sequence between two deposits can be seen
Westphalian: a European stage in geological time within the upper Carboniferous
Wolstonian: an ice age in Britain; between approximately 367 and 128 thousand years ago
Quaternary in the UK
Geological Time