Scottish sites on list of world's top 100 geology
Two sites in Scotland have been included on a list of 100 internationally important geological locationsThe Moine Thrust in the Highlands is a huge fault formed 430 million years agoTwo Scottish sites have been included on a list of globally important geology.The second feature, the Moine Thrust in the north west Highlands, was formed when two ancient continents collided about 430 million years ago.
Scottish scientist James Hutton's studies of the area's two sets of rocks of different ages in 1788 revolutionised ideas about the Earth's origin and age. The Moine Thrust Zone is a major tract of ancient tectonic faulting where rocks have been moved sideways for more than 62 miles .The feature is the centrepiece of the North West Highlands Unesco Geopark.Geologists come from all over the world to study the rocks at Siccar Point
"These are places where humankind made gigantic conceptual leaps forwards in our understanding of Earth processes and the passage of geological time."