The Whin Sill or Great Whin Sill is a tabular layer of the igneous rock dolerite in County Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria in the northeast of England. It lies partly in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and partly in Northumberland National Park and stretches from Teesdale northwards towards Berwick.
The geology of Jersey is characterised by the Late Proterozoic Brioverian volcanics, the Cadomian Orogeny, and only small signs of later deposits from the Cambrian and Quaternary periods. The kind of rocks go from conglomerate to shale, volcanic, intrusive and plutonic igneous rocks of many compositions, and metamorphic rocks as well, thus including most major types.
The geology of the Isle of Skye in Scotland is highly varied and the island's landscape reflects changes in the underlying nature of the rocks. A wide range of rock types are exposed on the island, sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous, ranging in age from the Archaean through to the Quaternary.
The geology of County Durham in northeast England consists of a basement of Lower Palaeozoic rocks overlain by a varying thickness of Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic sedimentary rocks which dip generally eastwards towards the North Sea. These have been intruded by a pluton, sills and dykes at various times from the Devonian Period to the Palaeogene. The whole is overlain by a suite of unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age arising from glaciation and from other processes operating during the post-glacial period to the present. The geological interest of the west of the county was recognised by the designation in 2003 of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a European Geopark.
The geology of Tyne and Wear in northeast England largely consists of a suite of sedimentary rocks dating from the Carboniferous and Permian periods into which were intruded igneous dykes during the later Palaeogene Period.
The Allen Confluence Gravels is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The site, listed since 1968, has an 'outstanding assemblage of river margin invertebrates.'
Allendale Moors is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The upland moorland ridge site is listed for its heath, flush and upland grassland which provide a habitat for a nationally important assemblage of moorland breeding birds.
Allolee to Walltown is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The site, which follows the path of a section of Hadrian's Wall, is notable for an unusually wide range of grassland types growing on thin soil above the Whin Sill, a rock formation peculiar to the Northern Pennines.
Alnmouth Saltmarsh and Dunes is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. It is the largest saltflat on the north-east coast, located on the south bank of the River Aln estuary, and notable for the varied plant community found on the interface between the saltflats and the dunes. It overlaps with and forms part of the much larger Northumberland Shore SSSI.
Aules Hill Meadows is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. The site, listed since 1992, is a set of four traditionally managed northern hay meadows, now rare in Northumberland.
Bamburgh Coast and Hills is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the coast of north Northumberland, England. The site is one of the longest-standing SSSIs in England, having been listed since 1954, and displays the interaction of a fluid magma rock, now known as the Whin Sill, interacting with older sedimentary rock. Coastal erosion at the site enables sections of the geological strata to be seen. In turn, the soil associated with the Whin Sill gives rise to a distinct pattern of vegetation which on its own merits is at this site found notable.
Bavington Crags is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland, England. The site is an outcropping of the Whin Sill which gives rise to distinctive flora particular to the thin soil conditions on this bedrock.
Beltingham River Shingle is the name given to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland in the north-east of England, notable for an unusual community of flora tolerant to the high levels of naturally occurring heavy metals in the sediment of a section of the River South Tyne.
The geology of Northumberland in northeast England includes a mix of sedimentary, intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks from the Palaeozoic and Cenozoic eras. Devonian age volcanic rocks and a granite pluton form the Cheviot massif. The geology of the rest of the county is characterised largely by a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks of Carboniferous age. These are intruded by both Permian and Palaeogene dykes and sills and the whole is overlain by unconsolidated sediments from the last ice age and the post-glacial period. The Whin Sill makes a significant impact on Northumberland's character and the former working of the Northumberland Coalfield significantly influenced the development of the county's economy. The county's geology contributes to a series of significant landscape features around which the Northumberland National Park was designated.
Brada Hill is a small hill escarpment near the coast of north Northumberland in North East England, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The 2.4 hectares site is an outcropping of a local stone group, the Whin Sill, on which grows a range of flora representative of the thin, drought-prone soil conditions and influenced by the underlying geology.
The Okavango Dyke Swarm is a giant dyke swarm of the Karoo Large Igneous Province in northeast Botswana, southern Africa. It consists of a group of Proterozoic and Jurassic dykes, trending east-southeast across Botswana, spanning a region nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) long and 110 kilometres (68 mi) wide. The Jurassic dykes were formed approximately 179 million years ago, composed of mainly tholeiitic mafic rocks. The formation is related to the magmatism at the Karoo triple junction, induced by the plate tectonic break up of the Gondwana supercontinent in the early Jurassic.
Longhoughton Quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north Northumberland in North East England. The site is a now disused quarry which yielded whinstone, a hard dark rock associated in Northumberland with the Whin Sill.
The geology of Northumberland National Park in northeast England includes a mix of sedimentary, intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks from the Palaeozoic and Cenozoic eras. Devonian age volcanic rocks and a granite pluton form the Cheviot massif. The geology of the rest of the national park is characterised largely by a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks of Carboniferous age. These are intruded by Permian dykes and sills, of which the Whin Sill makes a significant impact in the south of the park. Further dykes were intruded during the Palaeogene period. The whole is overlain by unconsolidated sediments from the last ice age and the post-glacial period.
The Prospect dolerite intrusion, or Prospect intrusion, is a Jurassic picrite or dolerite laccolith that is situated in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lying in the heart of Cumberland Plain, in the suburb of Pemulwuy, the intrusion is Sydney's largest body of igneous rock, rising to a height of 117 metres (384 ft) above sea level. The site is formed by an intrusion of dolerite rock into Ashfield Shale. At least seven different rock types occur in the intrusion.
