About Us
About Us - The Geological Society of Glasgow
The Society aims to attract people at every level of interest, from the geologist to amateur enthusiasts, to those with a mere passing curiosity about our planet, its structure and its rocks. Most of our members are based in the greater Glasgow area, but many come from Scotland as a whole, and from around the globe. At six of our eight Meetings from October to April, professional geoscientists give lectures on a wide range of topics, often dealing with the most recent research. These are sometimes provocative and controversial, presenting the opportunity for vigorous discussion. In recent years the topics have included feathered dinosaurs from China, tracking dinosaurs from Scotland to Wyoming, trilobites and other ancient fossils, the Basin and Range Province of the USA, the discovery and study of the Moine Thrust and its continuing international importance, the Neoproterozoic history of the Scottish-Irish Highlands, the Highland Boundary Fault Zone, the geological history of mid-Argyll, ancient volcanoes in Scotland, and today’s active volcanoes such as those in the Afar Triangle and Iceland. We recently hosted the highly-acclaimed Professor Richard Fortey of the Natural History Museum with an intriguing talk, “Forward into the Past”.
Our AGM is held at the December Meeting and is usually followed by short talks and a festive gathering. The May Meeting is Members’ Night, with a selection of short talks by amateur and professional members, and the opportunity to display photos, fossils and rock samples collected during Society excursions or elsewhere.
During the summer months there are six ‘day’ field trips. Localities visited include the Highland Border Slate Quarries north of Aberfoyle, Glencoe, Ballantrae (a ‘world class’ area), the Spireslack opencast coal mine in Ayrshire (now designated as a RIGS), the East Kirkton Quarry near Bathgate where ‘Lizzie’, a very early ‘reptile-like’ animal, was found about 20 years ago, the Isle of Bute with its fascinating and varied geology, Siccar Point and other localities on the east coast. Our residential trips have taken us to Islay, Skye, the Outer Hebrides, the Northwest Highlands, the Southern Uplands, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands and Shetland.
Members receive four Newsletters per year, providing up to the moment information about the Society, and also about the Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Highland Societies. The Society Proceedings are published annually and contain a record of the year’s lectures, reports on the various excursions, and other relevant information.
Membership provides access to our own Library and to the University of Glasgow Library. Our bookshop is open at each Society Meeting with a wide variety of textbooks and geological guides, which are discounted to members. The Scottish Journal of Geology, sponsored by the Glasgow and Edinburgh Societies, is published twice a year and contains a selection of papers on the most recent research work.
We hope that our website provides a comprehensive insight to the Society, and that its pages present many interesting, attractive and intriguing aspects worthy of further investigation. Come along to our Meetings and sample geology!!