The Old Redstone of Kerrera Island

THE OLD RED SANDSTONE FORMATION IN ISLAND OF KERRERA

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Introduction

The island of Kerrera is in the Firth of Lorne between the areas of Mull and the Scottish mainland and is opposite the town of Oban. The Island is approximately 6.5 miles long and two miles wide.

The Old Red Sandstone in Kerrera is a combination of red and brown sandstones, conglomerates, and shales deposited on the island during the Devonian age of geologic time. The old red sandstone, which contrasts with the other typical formations of the Devonian age, is largely a continental formation, laid down in both freshwaters and on land resulting from erosion from the highlands. (Infoplease.com, 2015).

The Devonian period refers to a period in geological times during the Paleozoic era. The Devonian period came after the Silurian Period and preceded the Carboniferous period. It occurred 419.2 million to 358.9 million years ago. Some geologists refer to the Devonian period as the age of fishes. This phrase came into use because of the different, several and shocking types of creatures that lived and swam in the Devonian seas. For instance, in the early Devonian there were forests and coiled shell bearing marines organisms known as ammonites emerged. In the late years of the Devonian period, there appeared the first four-legged amphibians that led to the vertebrates colonizing the land.

Formation of the Old Red Sandstone

Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks are types of rocks made when the other rocks break down into small fragments, and later the pieces join to form a new stone. Sandstones are also forms of rocks that form over centuries. It occurs when sand accumulates in rivers, lakes, oceans, valleys, in addition, the floors of other water bodies. The accumulated sand later blends with quarts or calcites and with time undergoes compression to form substances that are like rocks. The combination of sand and quartz undergoes...