Why Is The Isle Of Arran So Popular For Student Geological Field Training?

Foremost is the large variation of rocks in a relatively compact area. The igneous and sedimentary rocks to be seen on the coastal fringes and inland areas of the island are second to none of any other area of comparable size anywhere in the world.

Located in the Firth of Clyde, lying between the Ayrshire coast to the east and the Kintyre peninsula to the west, Arran's sedimentary rocks are representative of most systems from the Cambrian to the Pleistocene. The environments when these rocks were first laid down span from deep to shallow marine to coal swamps and deserts.

The igneous rocks are well represented too, from basalts to dolerite and granite and the collapsed caldera of the volcano that now forms the Central Ring Complex.

For an island barely 40 km long by 10 km wide, it packs in an amazing amount of geology. As its popularity amply demonstrates, the Isle of Arran is a living geology text book, a microcosm of features that are not usually found in such close proximity.

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