ENGLAND

The oldest sedimentary rocks and some igneous rocks (in isolated hills of granite) are on
the southwestern peninsula, ancient volcanic rocks underlie parts of the Cumbrian
Mountains, and the most recent alluvial soils cover the east. Slate covers most of the
northern portion of the Cumbrian Mountains, and thick beds of lava are found in the
southern part. Other sedimentary layers have yielded chains of central hills. Plateaus
of limestone, gritstone, and carboniferous strata are associated with major coalfields,
some existing as outcrops on the surface.
The geologic complexity of England is illustrated in the cliff structure of its shoreline. Along
the southern coast is a succession of sandstones of different colours and limestones of
different ages, culminating in the white chalk from the Isle of Wight to Dover.

SCOTLAND
Northwest Highlands are an ancient plateau, which, through long erosion, has been cut
into a series of peaks of fairly uniform height separated by glens (valleys) carved out by
glaciers. The Grampians are on the whole less rocky and rugged than the mountains of
the northwest, being more rounded and grassy with wider plateau areas.
The Midland Valley is flat. The landscape includes hills composed of volcanic rocks.
The Southern Uplands are rougher, with granitic intrusions, and the soil is more peaty and
wet.

WALES
Snowdonia’s magnificent scenery is accentuated by stark and rugged rock formations,
many of volcanic origin, whereas the Beacons generally have softer outlines. Many of the
uplands have been pounded by the sea into spectacular steplike cliffs. Other plateaus
give way to coastal flats that are estuarine in origin.

NORTHERN IRELAND
To the north and east are the mountains of, with the plateau terminating in an impressive
cliff coastline of basalts and chalk that is broken by a series of the glaciated valleys known
as glens. The rounded landscape of drumlins in the southeast rises and culminates in
the Mourne Mountains. This impressive landscape of granite peaks is bounded in the
south.