One of the joys of charity shops is that, in amongst the more or less useful castoffs from other people's lives, my wife occasionally comes across an absolute gem, like this beautifully-framed geology map of the Golspie area.
Not only are these maps a mine of information, most geology maps are works of art, not least because of their bold colours. These go back to the time of William 'Strata' Smith who researched, drew and published....
....the first geological map of England, Wales and southern Scotland in 1815. It was, to put it mildly, a remarkable achievement.
A geological map shows the rocks immediately under the soil, yet it is possible from this information to infer the structure of the rocks deep underground.
Two types of map are published by the British Geological Survey. 'Drift' maps include recent unconsolidated sediments such as sands and gravel, which tend to obscure the underlying 'hard' rocks. Happily, our Golspie map shows the 'solid' geology.
The map now graces the wall of our kitchen-diner.
Smith's geological map courtesy Wikipedia.
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