Mumbles Marble and Geology Field Guide

More: Explore collections A to Z >

Geology Field Guide

All the links below open in a new window 

The Geological Society

A field guide to the solid geology of the Gower Peninsula

by Ted Nield

Gower, the UK’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is a popular destination for geological field excursions because of the wide range of interesting and instructive geological and related geomorphological phenomena that are displayed within a relatively compact area. Sitting at the southern edge of the South Wales Coalfield, Gower rocks - consisting mainly of Devonian and Carboniferous sediments with (possible) Triassic and extensive Quaternary cover - are folded and faulted in a regionally consistent way. Its rocks and structures bear a distinctive relationship to topography, allowing students to establish for themselves through observation a clear sequence of events.

• • Introduction 

  • Gower - A part of Earth History

  • The structure of Gower - five guided tours

    • • A stroll along the prom (Swansea Bay) 

      • All that you survey (Cefn Bryn) 

      • Caswell Bay 

      • Three Cliffs Bay 

      • Rhosili 

  • Other sites of geological interest

  • Acknowledgements and suggested further reading 

  • Glossary

Map- British Geological Survey

Geologic map of Wales and south-west England

Map is based on:

• British Geological Survey; 2005: Bedrock geology UK South, 1:625 000 scale (5th ed.), HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

• Jackson, A.A.; 2005: Bedrock geology UK South, an explanation of the bedrock geology map of England and Wales - 1:625 000 fifth edition, British Geological Survey, Keyworth/Nottingham.

• Holland, C.H. & Sanders, I.; 2009 (2nd ed.): The Geology of Ireland, Dunedin Academic Press, Edinburgh, ISBN: 9781903765722.

Map-Wikimedia Commons