Ireland Gallery

Geological map of the British Isles

Geological map of the British Isles, with a colour-coded key (right, see C015/2656 for details and names). The geology of the British Isles is extremely varied with rocks from nearly all geological periods. The rock formation types shown are: 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). The oldest rocks are in north-west Scotland, the youngest in south-east England. For a simpler map with less detail, see C015/2655.

© GARY HINCKS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

16th century map of the British Isles

Map of the British Isles, in the 1570 edition of Ortelius Atlas (Theatrum Orbis Terrarum). Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) was a Flemish mapmaker who is considered to have produced the first true atlas (collection of uniform maps in one book). Ortelius worked in Antwerp, the Netherlands. This map is titled: Angliae, Scotiae et Hiberniae (England, Scotland and Ireland). The text at upper right is in Latin and mentions Saxons and Albion (another term for Britain). A royal coat of arms is seen at lower left.

© LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, GEOGRAPHY AND MAP DIVISION/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The 8th Duke of Devonshire fishing on the Blackwater with Lismore Castle in the background, c

3474041 The 8th Duke of Devonshire fishing on the Blackwater with Lismore Castle in the background, c.1889 (b/w photo)
; Collection of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth House, UK; (add.info.: photograph by A.H. Poole.
Spencer Compton Cavendish (1833-1908) 8th Duke of Devonshire.
Lismore Castle is the Irish home of the Duke of Devonshire.); © Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth; Reproduced by permission of Chatsworth Settlement Trustees; out of copyright.

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