XIII.— The Triassic Rocks of the Annan Basin, Dumfriesshire

Abstract

1. Introduction. The Annan Basin of Triassic rocks has an area of approximately fifty-five square miles, lying in Sheets 6, 10 and 11 of the One-inch Map of Scotland. It stretches from the River Annan eastwards to the Esk; on the south it is bounded by the Solway Firth, and its northern margin is an irregular line running roughly eastwards from Springkell to Canonbie (Fig. 1). The rocks of the basin are continuous with those of Cumberland on the east, but the relationship to the south below the waters of the Solway is uncertain. The area here referred to as the Annan Basin is the Scottish portion of the wide Solway Basin. The drainage of the area goes to the Solway Firth by the Rivers Annan, Sark and Esk and the Kirtle Water. The country rarely reaches 400 ft. above sea-level and, except for a few peat mosses, is given over to agriculture. There is an almost continuous cover of glacial deposits, and consequently rock exposures are practically confined to the rivers and the numerous disused quarries. Building-stone of excellent quality was formerly produced at many quarries, but only one, at Corsehill near Annan, is now working. Previous Literature. A list of publications referred to in the following paragraphs is given on page 179. The last paper dealing in detail with the rocks of the Annan Basin was that by Horne and Gregory, published in 1916 in the Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow; this paper gives a statement This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract The writer wishes to record his indebtedness to Professor A. E. Trueman for helpful discussions of critical sections in the field and to Mr. V. A. Eyles for information about a boring in the Lower Carboniferous near Corsehill Quarry.