If you are a geology nut, you may dream of clambering up volcanoes or searching for dinosaur footprints in China, but sometimes you need go no further than your town centre to experience a cornucopia of fascinating rocks.
Out in the field, geologists may have to trek across difficult terrain to find what they are looking for. But a sharp-eyed pedestrian should be able to spot a wealth of rock types during a short stroll down the average high street.
Bank buildings in particular often offer rich pickings for the geologist, and cemeteries can be another prime location. Londoners are particularly lucky, and can even join a guided walk of the capital’s building stones with University College London geologist Ruth Sidall, or they can follow her online guides.
At 1 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, for example, Sidall points out the beautiful ammonites and belemnites in the white Jura marble from Bavaria. Juxtaposed with this is the contrasting black crystal-rich “Jet Mist”, quarried from the USA, while just a stone’s throw away is some stone street furniture made from the exquisite mottled red Rapakivi granite from the Baltic region.
Meanwhile, residents of Oxford are now able to brush up on their knowledge of different kinds of marble, or search for ripples and dune structures in sandstone, using the recently published The Geology of Oxford Gravestones, by Nina Morgan and Philip Powell.
No matter where you live there are fascinating geological stories waiting to be discovered. And rock spotting beats shopping any day.
