IX.— The East Kirkton Limestone

Abstract

I. Introduction and Previous Research The East Kirkton Limestone is an impersistent bed of peculiar lithology exposed about one mile east of Bathgate. In this area, included in the Geological Survey six-inch quarter-sheet Linlithgow IX NE., the strike of the Carboniferous rocks is approximately north-south. The maximum extent of the limestone in this direction is no more than a mile and, indeed, it may be even more restricted, for the exposure at Craigs, to the north of the large east-west fault (see Fig. 1), is only tentatively correlated with the main exposures at East Kirkton. Geikie (1861) suggests that the limestone is limited in extent to about 100 yards north and south of the quarry. The limestone occurs within the thick succession of olivine-basalt lavas which overlie the Oil Shale Group and lies a short distance below the West Kirkton Limestone. This marine limestone is generally regarded as the equivalent of the Hurlet Limestone and marks the base of the Lower Limestone Group in the Bathgate area. Previous Research .—The limestone was first noted by Fleming (1825), and a few years later Hibbert (1836, pp. 278-282) gave the earliest description of its lithology and suggested that it was formed by chemical precipitation from waters emitted by hot springs. He likened the laminated beds to certain of the Tertiary strata of Auvergne which are also in close proximity to volcanic rocks. Geikie (1861, pp. 48-51) accepting the mode of origin proposed by Hibbert, described the lithology of the beds and their succession This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract The authors wish to express their indebtedness to Dr. G. Y. Craig, who first directed their attention to the spherulitic structures in the limestone; they would wish also to record their gratitude to Professor A. Holmes and to Dr. A. M. Cockburn for helpful criticism of the manuscript.