Rocks
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of approximately 4200 rock specimens which broadly date from the Precambrian period to the Quaternary period (c.2800 million BP–12000 BP). This collection comprises 3,400 hand specimens and about 800 thin sections and includes igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. These are predominantly representative of Scotland although some rocks originate from England, Wales and Ireland with a small number from other parts of the world. The igneous collection contains common types of intrusive rocks, such as granite, diorite, dolerite and gabbro as well as more unusual rocks such as essexite, teschenite, kentallenite and borrollanite. It also contains volcanic rocks including basalt, rhyolite, trachyte, andesite as well as other lavas and volcanic ashes. The metamorphic collection, mainly from the Scottish Highlands, contains examples of gneiss, schist, slate, phyllite, quartzite, marble and other metamorphic rocks while a good representation of common sedimentary rocks includes conglomerate, breccia, grit, sandstone, mudstone and shale. The collection also includes rocks of economic importance such as Glasgow building stones, coal and limestone and a small number of polished rocks such as marble samples and granite columns.
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