Author Archives: Metageologist

How to make a rock from scratch

Posted on 20 January, 2013 by Metageologist

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” Carl Sagan. I have a handsome piece of rock in my hand. How did it come to be, how was it made? A perfectly … Continue reading →

Categories: geochemistry, metamorphism, subduction

A bit of Scotland in an English playground

Posted on 29 December, 2012 by Metageologist

There is a park near my home that my children like. As is the way of things, this means I stand around it a lot, ready to rub bruised knees or produce biscuits or push ‘faster!’, but otherwise redundant. My … Continue reading →

Categories: England, Glacial, Scotland

Cratons – old and strong

Posted on 19 December, 2012 by Metageologist

Cratons are pieces of continents that have been stable for a over a billion years. As earth’s plates drift along, mountains periodically rise and fall, plate boundaries appear and disappear. But cratons are like great-grandmothers at family gatherings, while younger … Continue reading →

Categories: eclogites, mountains, subduction, tectonics

Erosion makes mountains beautiful

Posted on 9 December, 2012 by Metageologist

The thing that makes mountains so beautiful and fascinating,is not so much their height as their steepness. Climbers and trekkers flock to the High Himalaya, not to get altitude sickness but for the grandeur of the landscape, the experience of … Continue reading →

Categories: Glacial, mountains, tectonics