BRISTOL

British Geological Survey Bristol Special Sheet



British Geological Survey Bristol Special Sheet

Introduction

The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partially funded organization that endeavours to progress the geo scientific knowledge of the United Kingdom atoll. In addition, it also covers the continental shelf of the United Kingdom. All the work of BGS is performed by means of research, systematic surveying and monitoring. The present motto of BGS is “Applied Geoscience for our changing earth”.

The Geological Survey was founded in 1835 and was the first national geological survey. Initially, British Geological Survey (BGS) was named as the Institute of Geological Sciences. In the South West England, there exists a ceremonial county, a unitary authority area and a city named as Bristol. For the unitary authority, Bristol has a population of 433,100 approximately in the year 2009. It has a population of about 1,070,000 in its surrounding LUZ (Larger Urban Zone) in 2007.

Bristol is one of the densely inhabited cities in the South West England and also one of the Core Cities Group (CSE, 2013). It is the eighth heavily populated city in United Kingdom and the sixth most populous city of England. Bristol is the biggest centre of education, culture and employment. The prosperity of Bristol has been associated with the sea since its initial days.

The divided area of the geological map

Bristol is situated 105 miles or 169 kilometers west of London and 24 miles or 39 kilometers east of Cardiff. It is built around the Avon River. Bristol has a small coastline on the Severn Estuary and that flows in the channel of Bristol. Bristol is located in a area that is limestone and it runs from the Hills of Mendip towards the south and to the north east towards Cotswolds. River Frome and Avon have shaped this limestone to make the characteristic of Bristol a hilly landscape. The flow of Avon River is from the Bath, located in the south east, through the Bristol and ends at Avon mouth into the Severn Estuary. Avon Gorge has been formed through the limestone which is cut to the west of Bristol (Ellison & Woods, 2004,pp. 25-26). By this feature, the Harbour of Bristol is helped a lot and is protected. Along with that, Bristol has been quarried for stone for building the city.

The area is divided into the southeast and northwest of the Southern Upland Fault. However, the fault is not present in the western regions. As far as the geological history of the region is concerne, it is possible that the fault may have opeareted as a strategic structure that lost its value with the passage fo time. In the fault's southeast, the geology is surrounded by thick and tightly folded volcanic rocks. These are overlain by successions of coal measures, millstone grit and sedimentary and volacnic rocks. The geology to the northwest of the southern upland fault comprises of old sedimentary rocks that are Downtonian or Upper Siluruan in nature. These rocks also include a distinctly Quartzite Conglomerate that are covered ...