Category 9: Folding and Faulting

Thought rocks were boring? Think again! From zig zags and chevrons, to crumples and folds, to fault planes and melanges, these sites are some of the best places to see evidence of the power of geological forces in shaping our landscape.
Click on the links below to find out about each Geosite:
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GlencoulSutherland, Scotland The double fjords of Glencoul and Glendhu provide world-famous transects through the Moine Thrust Belt. |
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The MuidheLochaber, Highlands, Scotland This site is located 4km west of Glenfinnan. The rocks here have been strongly deformed and some superb folding and pull-apart structures are clearly visible. |
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Millook HavenCornwall, England The coastal section through north Cornwall into Devon that runs to Bude and Hartland Point contains a spectacularly folded series of inter-bedded sandstones and shales originally deposited deeply under water. ![]() |
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South Stack Formation, AngleseyWales The folds at South Stack are especially good for showing how smaller folds can form on the “backs” of larger ones – in a truly stunning display of structural geology. |
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Loch Monar Polyphase FoldingInverness-shire, Scotland Loch Monar - a playground for folding, especially polyphase folding. It was here in the 1950s that John Ramsay set up the protocols for describing these complex structures. |
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Folding at BroadhavenPembrokeshire, Wales The cliff sections here – best visited at low-tide - are much used as a great and classic playground for looking at fold-thrust structures. |
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Outer Isles Fault and PseudotachylytesNorth Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland The pseudotachylytes just outside Lochmaddy are amongst the most spectacular anywhere - presumed formed by ancient earthquakes on the Outer Isles Fault. |
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Cromer Glacio-tectonic foldsNorfolk, England The cliff sections along the north Norfolk coast contain many spectacular examples of glacio-tectonic folds – especially near Cromer – although the state of these changes with the passage of each storm…. |
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KilveSomerset, England The deformed Jurassic sedimentary rocks at Kilve have become justly famous for providing micro-examples of faults and associated folds. |
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ClashachMoray, Scotland Clashach Cove, on the Moray coast, contains great outcrops of dune sandstones. These are fantastic outcrop analogues for conventional oil and gas reservoirs. |