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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 30 ● Number 1, 2005 Reviews Volcanoes and the Making of Scotland. Brian Upton. Dunedin Academic Press 2004. ISBN 1-903765-40-4. £16.95 hardback. viii+247pp. Described in its introduction as ‘neither an academic treatise nor as a field guide’, this book will nevertheless be a valuable source of background information for anyone planning a fieldtrip encompassing anything volcanic in Scotland. Since in Scotland one is never very far away from volcanic rocks or their feeder zones, that means pretty much any field trip in Scotland. The book is liberally illustrated in colour, and enough general information about locations is given to direct the prospective visitor to the right areas, even though they would benefit from a more specific guide upon arrival. A retired emeritus professor with forty years experience at the University of Edinburgh, Brian Upton was wellqualified to tackle this undertaking. The first 46 pages are occupied by four preliminary chapters introducing Earth structure and geological time for those who know nothing already (though such readers would surely struggle later in the book anyway) and describing magmagenesis, lava flows and pyroclastic deposits (a useful memory jogger for those with some geological knowledge, who will surely be the vast majority of the readership). The nearly two hundred remaining pages of text tell the story of Scotland’s volcanoes, in the context of what was happening to Scotland as a whole at each time. Because for younger events the evidence is clearer and the interpretation more straightforward, Upton has chosen to describe the main volcanic phases of Scottish history beginning with the youngest first. Thus he begins with the British Tertiary Volcanic Province of the Inner Hebrides, and progresses backwards in time via the Permocarbonferous volcanics and so back in several stages that end up with speculations (‘seen through a glass darkly’) about the early Proterozoic events associated with the Lewisian. However, and for equally good reasons, each chapter (or section of a chapter) describes events progressing forwards in time. Each significant volcanic edifice is described in a useful degree of detail, and where possible in its environmental context. Present-day analogues are described, and usually illustrated, thus helping the reader imagine the scene while the volcano was active. For me the repeated alternations of ‘fast rewind’ and ‘forward play’ did not really work, and I found it very difficult to keep track of ‘what happened next’. The book does a better job of the ‘volcanoes’ part of its title than it does of the ‘making of Scotland’ part. While I was reading this book, the news came through that Edinburgh had been selected as UNESCO’s first ever ‘City of Literature’. While he won’t have done the city’s literary reputation any harm, Upton has not enhanced it with this book. Apart from mis-spellings (such as Tamboro for Tambora, Pinatobu for Pinatubo, Soloman Islands for Solomon Islands), there is a cringe-making malapropism in the description of conditions in the East Kirkton volcanic lake as ‘inimitable to fish’, and I was intrigued to learn that the exposed rim of the Midland Valley Sill is ‘studied with quarries’. So that’s why all those quarries were put there! I did however enjoy Upton’s comment about fieldworkers enduring ‘the wind, rain, bogs, midges and other mortifications of the flesh to unravel the geological secrets’ of Arran, Mull and so on. Upton is a petrologist and geochemist, which may excuse the few errors, or at least misleading statements, that I noted concerning physical volcanology. We are told on page 41 that pahoehoe lavas are faster flowing than a’a lavas. While this is generally true of the tube-fed interiors of pahoehoe flows, it does not apply to the sluggish material that forms the characteristic toes and ropes on pahoehoe surfaces, and most of what is preserved is created on the tops of flows (via breakouts through the roof) rather than at the advancing flow front as implied in the text. Upton misleads about pahoehoe again on page 207 where he attributes the rounded form of pahoehoe toes and pillow lavas to surface tension, whereas in fact the explanation is simply that the surface is rapidly chilled to form a flexible rind that encloses the molten interior (think of molasses in a bin bag). It is good to see a book of such reasonable price illustrated in colour. Almost all of the photographs appear to be Upton’s own. The quality either of the photos or the printing sometimes disappoints, neither Figure 6.15 nor 6.23 meriting its double page spread. Only one of the photos (Figure 8.18) is in black and white, and unless my eyes deceive me the coin used for scale is a farthing. The maps and line drawings are of good quality, and many of the coloured ones appear to be the result of Upton’s own sufficiently neat handcrayoning of black-and-white line linework. This is a cost-effective and not unappealing trick that should be more widely emulated. Now I have read this book I’ll take the first chance I get to see for myself the well-preserved flow-tops of early Carboniferous basalts on the East Lothian coastline. If other readers have their appetites similarly whetted, then Upton has done a good job. David A Rothery Department of Earth Sciences The Open University www.esta-uk.org 30
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 30 ● Number 1, 2005 Classic Landforms of the Loch Lomond Area. D.J.A. Evans and J. Rose. Geographical Association, 160 Solly Street, Sheffield S1 4BF. 56pp, ISBN 1-84377-072-5. £9.99. For many years, the Classic Landforms series has provided attractive and accessible guides to the landscapes of England and Wales. The Geographical Association is now extending coverage north of the border, and in this third Scottish title in the series, Dave Evans and Jim Rose have given us an excellent tour of one of Britain’s best loved landscapes, the area around Loch Lomond. The format follows that of earlier guides, with a general overview of the region followed by more detailed looks at specific localities, richly illustrated with full colour maps, diagrams and photographs throughout. Evans and Rose have fully exploited the potential of this format to produce a highly informative and readable guide, pitched at just the right level for A-Level students, junior undergraduates, and interested lay people. The book opens with a discussion of the geological evolution of the western Highland boundary, then moves on to drainage development and the impact of Quaternary glaciations on the gross form of the landscape, and concludes with a lucid overview of the environmental changes recorded by glacial, marine, lacustrine and fluvial sediments and landforms. The themes introduced in this section are then elaborated in a series of chapters focusing on areas of particular interest. Some of these are well-known local beauty spots, such as the shores (or should that be “Bonnie Banks”) of Loch Lomond, and the weird rock pinnacles of the Whangie, and visitors will find their experience of these places enriched by the readable and informative descriptions of their origin. Other areas covered in the guide are less well known but no less interesting. Hidden among the rolling farmland around the southern end of Loch Lomond are the beds of former estuaries and ice-dammed lakes, swarms of drumlins and great belts of ice-thrust moraines, recording the waxing and waning of ice sheets and glaciers and the rising and falling of the sea. Readers are given the benefit of the authors’ intimate knowledge of the area, who clearly explain the salient features, significance and context of sites hitherto known only to a few specialists. A particularly welcome feature of these case studies is that local detail is frequently used to introduce general principles, such as stratigraphy, mass movement processes, and glacitectonic deformation. Thus, readers learn not only about the specifics of one place, but also acquire a broader understanding that they can then apply in other areas. Evans and Rose have thus done a double service, not only providing welcome information about a popular and richly varied area, but also showing how landscapes provide windows into environmental change, past and present. So whether you travel north by the low road or the high, be sure to pack a copy of this great little book. Douglas Benn School of Geography and Geosciences University of St. Andrews Higher Education Seminar on 1st March ‘The Changing Face of Higher Education’ seminar is the first in a series of three seminars, the second will take place on 13 April entitled ŒThe Changing Face of 14-19 Education‚. The third will take place late June early July bringing the two sectors together. The first seminar is aimed at those working in/with the schools sector especially 14-19 needing to know about Higher Education and Widening Participation and will take place at the Midland Hotel, Derby from 10.00 a.m. until 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday 1st March. Further details will be sent to registered participants nearer the date. See www.actiononaccess.org for further details. Contact: Chris Kelly, Promotion & Dissemination Officer, Action on Access, c/o SLED University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford BD7 1DP Tel: 01274 233215 Fax: 01274 235360 Email: c.kelly@actiononaccess.org www.actiononaccess.org 31 www.esta-uk.org
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