Origins of minerals in Britain Flashcards
What can we tell about the the tectonic plates that make up Britain?
They have moved and so have come from parts of ancient continents meaning different rocks were formed in different climates
What was the ancient super continent called?
Pangea
How can we track the slow movement of continents over the Earth’s surface?
When igneous rocks form, magnetite in them is magnetised in the direction of the poles’ field, at the equator they are vertical, at the poles horizontal.
What processes have led to the formation of coal, limestone and salt?
Mountain building, erosion, sedimentation, dissolving, and evaporation
How and when was limestone formed?
When Britain was covered by sea, shellfish died and formed sediment, this sediment compacted and formed sedimentary rock, plate movement pushed it up and erosion eventually exposed it.
What evidence is there in sedimentary rocks that help to find the conditions in which they were formed?
Fossils, shapes of water borne grains compared to air blown grains, presence of shell fragments
How was salt formed?
Salt formed while Cheshire was covered by a shallow sea, the sea brought in salt water which evaporated with climate warming leaving salt which was blown in with sand, forming rock salt.
