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Calton Hill
Leader: Alistair McGowan
Calton Hill is part of the wider landscape that has been left by the deposition and erosion of a suite of volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks deposited by igneous activity during the Early Carboniferous.
To better understand the igneous activity, the excursion will trace the geological units from the lowest tufts and lavas that form the cliffs of Calton Craigs up through the alternating sequence of lavas and tufts. Another aim of the excursion is to compare the sequence of rocks exposed on Calton Hill with those in Holyrood Park.
Some of the lavas are well-exposed and allow more detailed study of the characteristics that allow the different types of Carboniferous lavas to be differentiated in the field. After crossing the summit area, the final locality to be visited exposes an intrusive dyke on the descent to Greenside.