Acknowledgements

Contributing authors

Preface to the Fifth Edition

Chapter 1. Scotland’s geology: evolution, crustal structure and societal relevance M. Smith, R. Strachan and A. G. Leslie

Chapter 2. Milestones in the history of Scottish geology D. Hawley and T. Sharpe

Chapter 3. Archean–Paleoproterozoic: formation of the crystalline basement K. M. Goodenough, G. L. Guice, A. F. Bird, E. D. Dempsey, H. S. R. Hughes and T. E. Johnson

Chapter 4. Late Mesoproterozoic–middle Neoproterozoic: sedimentation and orogeny on the margin of Rodinia R. Strachan, A. R. Prave, M. Krabbendam and M. Smith

Chapter 5. Middle Neoproterozoic–Early Ordovician: foreland basins, climatic extremes and rift-to-drift margins T. Prave, A. E. Fallick, R. Strachan, M. Krabbendam and A. G. Leslie

Chapter 6. Early–Middle Ordovician Grampian orogenesis: ophiolite obduction and arc–continent collision A. G. Leslie, P. Stone and R. Strachan

Chapter 7. Middle Ordovician–Silurian: Midland Valley forearc basins and the Southern Uplands accretionary complex at the southern margin of Laurentia P. Stone

Chapter 8. The Caledonian Orogeny: Late Ordovician–Early Devonian tectonic and magmatic events associated with closure of the Iapetus Ocean R. D. Law, R. Strachan, M. Thirlwall and J. R. Thigpen

Chapter 9. Old Red Sandstone: continental sedimentation on the eroding Caledonian Orogen J. E. A. Marshall

Chapter 10. Carboniferous: oblique-slip basins, intraplate magmatism and the Variscan Orogeny A. A. Monaghan, D. Millward, T. I. Kearsey, M. A. E. Browne and A. G. Leslie

Chapter 11. Permian and Triassic: changing climates in the centre of Pangaea A. J. Hartley and D. Watson

Chapter 12. Jurassic: Pangaea break-up and birth of the Atlantic Ocean N. Morton, M. Smith, T. Dodd, E. Panciroli and T. Randles

Chapter 13. Cretaceous: Atlantic rifting, inversion tectonics and transgression R. N. Mortimore and D. Long

Chapter 14. Paleogene and Neogene sedimentation: development of deep ocean circulation around the Atlantic and Arctic margins M. A. Stewart and D. Jones

Chapter 15. Paleogene igneous activity: North Atlantic plume-related magmatism B. R. Bell and I. T. Williamson

Chapter 16. Quaternary: glaciations, sea-level change and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction D. J. A. Evans, J. W. Merritt, E. R. Phillips and I. Shennan

Chapter 17. Scotland’s mineral, water and energy resources: building a low-carbon future M. Smith, P. Butler, M. R. Gillespie, R. S. Haszeldine, D. Jones, A. A. Monaghan and C. M. Rice

Chapter 18. The role of geology in developing places H. C. Fallas, J. Duckett, F. M. Fordyce, D. Linn, A. Finlayson, L. M. Peskett and A. Bowker

Chapter 19. Conserving and promoting Scotland’s geoheritage C. C. J. MacFadyen

Index

“This new, fully-revised, 5th edition brings us right up-to-date, incorporating much recent research, which, in addition to the use of novel and improved analytical techniques, also re-examines existing data and exposures.”

Stuart Swales

Excerpt from review originally published in Proceedings of the Open University Geological Society, Volume 11, 2025

2024 saw the reappearance of The Geology of Scotland. Now in its fifth edition, it is sixty years since Gordon Craig marshalled the first. This original, and subsequent versions, have served as fundamental references for Scottish geology. But the current edition, edited by Smith and Strachan, is a step up in quality and coverage and a significant update from the fourth (published 2002).The editors are to be congratulated in keeping the forty-nine other authors in line! Each chapter has its own list of cited references; while this leads to some duplication, the chapters are now essentially self-contained review papers. Full colour is used throughout, with illustrations from source publications redrafted to retain an attractive house style. The narrative steps up through geological time, from the Archaean-Paleoproterozoic of the Lewisian basement, up to Quaternary glaciation and geomorphology. This is all pretty conventional, though the links between onshore outcrop and the off shore subsurface record are especially welcome. There are timely chapters on geoheritage, geotourism, resources, and engineering geology, especially the challenges and opportunities in repurposing Scotland’s industrial heritage for a lower carbon economy and energy mix. At times, this is an exceptionally dense read to undertake, especially for newcomers to geology. Chapters are concluded by summaries and have succinct topic boxes that explore key aspects, though even many of these are not for the faint-hearted. 
However, there are curious omissions. More could be made of how Scotland’s geological record informs global understanding of Earth processes. The present-day crustal structure is largely ignored, and geophysics, as a source of this knowledge, is given cursory treatment. While there are regional cross-sections, they are truncated at 15 km depth and use 2x vertical exaggeration, as adopted routinely by the British Geological Survey, giving a misleading impression of tectonic structure both in mountain belts and sedimentary basins. Likewise, in the “milestones in the history of Scottish geology” section, discussions are all based on the nineteenth century. There’s little mention, for example, of the deep seismic campaigns in the 1980s that changed global understanding of sedimentary basin formation, and they’re missing even from coverage of the Mesozoic of the North Sea. Nevertheless, Geology of Scotland is excellent for outcrop-scale geology. It is a book for geologists by geologists. As a reference and entry point for the richness of published literature, it is essential for libraries and Scottish geology enthusiasts.

Reviewed by Rob Butler, Geoscientist, Autumn 2025.