Country Gallery

Geological map of the British Isles

Geological map of the British Isles, with a colour-coded key (right). The geology of the British Isles is extremely varied with rocks from nearly all geological periods. Three rock formation types are shown: sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous. The majority of the rocks in Ireland, England and Wales are sedimentary, with large areas of volcanic and metamorphic rocks in Scotland. The sedimentary rocks are colour-coded by geological period, from most recent to most ancient (top to bottom) in the key, along with rock names. The oldest rocks are in north-west Scotland, the youngest in south-east England. For a simpler map, see C015/2655; an alternate is C015/2657

© GARY HINCKS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Sri Lanka - Geta Beraya and Udekkiya players

Traditional Sri Lankna drums and drummers. The standing player is holding a hill country drum called the Geta Beraya (a drum with a knot). This is the main drum used to accompany dance sequences in all Kandyan rituals. The right face is covered with the hide of a monkey or monitor lizard and the left side is covered with cattle hide, which is used to provide a finer sound. The seated player is holding a Udekkiya, a very handy drum predominantly used during Kandyan rituals and folk dances. It is played with one hand while handling and controlling the sound by pressure applied on the string and Sawarama with the other. Date: circa 1908

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Snow-covered United Kingdom, January 2010

Snow-covered United Kingdom, January 2010. Satellite image of snow and ice (white) covering the UK during the cold spell in January 2010. It is thought that this could be the coldest winter in the UK since 1963. Clouds (white) are also seen. This image was obtained by NASA's Terra satellite at 11:50 UTC on 7 January 2010

© NASA/GSFC, MODIS RAPID RESPONSE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY