William Smith Exhibition A Level Geology Challenge

William Smith Exhibition A Level Geology Challenge RELEVANT TO GEOLOGY GCE A LEVEL SYLLABUS

About this resource This resource for A Level has been written to support the William Smith Maps exhibition, on display at National Museum Cardiff from 26th September 2015. It can also be used in the classroom, by accessing the maps online at www.strata-smith.com/ Learning Office for bookings and general enquiries Tel: 029 2057 3240 Email: learning@museumwales.ac.uk About this resource/acknowledgements Acknowledgements This challenge has been developed for the WJEC GCE Geology with the assistance of Andrew Prickett, Head of Geology, Barry Comprehensive. The development, design and printing of this resource have been funded by SRK Consulting. William Smith s Maps are reproduced with the permission of Amgueddfa Cymru National Museum Wales. The modern geological maps and geological columns are reproduced with the permission of the British Geological Survey NERC. All rights Reserved www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 2

Introduction Introduction Today s geological maps are the result of 180 years of fieldwork by geologists. The first geological map of England and Wales was published 200 years ago, in 1815, and it was the work of one man, William Smith, working entirely on his own. One of Smith s original sets of fossil sketches William Smith was born in Churchill, Oxfordshire in 1769. As a boy, he had an interest in the local rocks and fossils. As an adult, he surveyed land for canal building and was employed to find coal. Smith realized that the rocks he saw in the coal mines, and in the trenches dug for canals, were arranged in a regular sequence. As he travelled around England and Wales for his work he found that this sequence was repeated in other areas, and that some rock outcrops stretched right across the country. Using this knowledge and fossil evidence Smith drew up a table of strata which could be applied in any area of the UK an early geological column. He started to draw sketch maps, beginning with Bath in 1799. In 1815 Smith published the first ever geological map of a country. Smith s cross section showing the rocks across Wales and England from NW Wales to SE England www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 3

A Level Geology Map Challenge Have a go at the following questions using the resources in the worksheet and the maps in the William Smith exhibition at National Museum Cardiff. A Level Geology Map Challenge If you are unable to visit the William Smith exhibition, all the maps in this challenge have been digitised and can be accessed online by visiting: www.strata-smith.com These questions are similar to those that you will be faced with in your A2 GL4 (WJEC) paper in the summer. GOOD LUCK! NAME: www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 4

Section 1: Fossils Section 1: Fossils Smith noticed that particular layers of sedimentary rocks could be identified by the fossils they contained, and that these rocks were always arranged in the same order. Fossils provided the evidence for much of his work. a) Using the picture below and Smith s original sketch, draw a labelled sketch of the fossil shown. 0 2 cm Figure 1 Fossil specimen Figure 2 Smith s sketch of a similar fossil Fossil group www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 5

Section 2: Map Information b) Look at the modern geological map of Gloucestershire below and compare it to the Smith map for the same area. Section 2: Map Information What information that is important to us today is not included by Smith? Why do you think this is? Information not included by Smith: Why is it not included? Figure 3 Smith map of part of Gloucestershire Figure 4 BGS map of Gloucestershire Reproduced with the permission of the British Geological Survey NERC. All rights Reserved www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 6

Section 3: Stratigraphic Column c) Look at the stratigraphic columns and keys below from both Smith s map and a modern BGS one. Section 3: Stratigraphic Column List as many differences as you can between the two (look for things that Smith did not include/record): 1 2 3 4 5 6 Figure 5 Extract of a Smith key and stratigraphic column Figure 6 Extract of a BGS key and stratigraphic column Reproduced with the permission of the British Geological Survey NERC. All rights Reserved www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 7

Section 4: Landscape (Geomorphology) d) Why is the topography (shape of the land) more difficult to pick out on Smith s maps? Section 4: Landscape (Geomorphology) e) Look at the section from the Smith map below: Figure 7 Smith map of the Oxford area i) Describe the outcrop pattern around Woodstock, to the north of Oxford. ii) How has this outcrop pattern been formed? www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 8

Section 5: Dipping beds f) How can dip direction be worked out using Smith maps? Section 5: Dipping beds g) Use the section of the Smith map below to help draw an annotated sketch of the outcrops south of London to confirm the dip direction in that area: Figure 8 Smith map south of London showing the relevant part of the stratigraphic column Sketch map showing dip direction in this area h) How can the relative angle of dipping beds be worked out on Smith s maps? Annotate the Smith map below to show how the relative steepness of the beds can be worked out. Figure 9 Smith map of the area south west of Bristol www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 9

Section 6: Folding Section 6: Folding i) Look at the map extract from a modern BGS map showing folding around the Mendips hills. Can you recognise this feature on the Smith map alongside? Using evidence from both maps describe the fold structure (include information on dip angle, plunge etc.). Figure 10 Smith extract of the Mendip hills Figure 11 BGS extract of the Mendip hills Reproduced with the permission of the British Geological Survey NERC. All rights Reserved Fold Structure: www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 10

j) Look at the two extracts below showing the area around Micklewood. Why might it be difficult to interpret the fold structure based on Smith s evidence alone? Section 6: Folding Figure 12 Smith extract of Micklewood Figure 13 BGS extract of Micklewood Reproduced with the permission of the British Geological Survey NERC. All rights Reserved www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 11

Section 7: Unconformities k) How does Smith hint at an unconformity on the map below? Section 7: Unconformities A B B A Figure 14 Smith map of the area near Taunton www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 12

Section 8: Faulting l) Smith did not label or name any faults on his maps, but he did observe features which provide evidence for faulting. Section 8: Faulting What is the evidence of a possible fault shown on the extract below? (annotate the map) X Y Y X Figure 15 Smith map of part of the River Severn m) Today this has been confirmed as the Berkeley fault. What evidence could you look for in the field to confirm that there is a fault in this area? www.museumwales.ac.uk/learning Tel: (029) 2057 3240 13