Elie Ness
Geological Conservation Review site | GCR #2424 | Mineralogy | Mineralogy of Scotland
Scotland's geosites are chosen because of their local, national or international importance. Take only photos, leave only footprints: avoid causing any damage to this site. You can walk almost anywhere in Scotland without the need to ask permission or keep to paths, but you have a responsibility to care for your own safety, to respect people's privacy and peace of mind and to cause no damage.
This site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage the protected natural features of a SSSI, and this includes unauthorised sample collection.
The right of access does not extend to quarries, building sites or any land where public access is prohibited, or to the collection of geological samples.
Summary
The section of the Elie Ness volcanic neck between Lady's Tower and the Lighthouse is of mineralogical interest. Here the mafic nodules and basaltic bombs become larger as the lighthouse is approached, and being harder than the enclosing tuffs, they weather out as rounded boulders on the foreshore. Xenocrysts of pyrope garnet (the famous Elie Ruby) can be found and a few of the nodules are of spinel rather than the more normal pyroxene and amphibole. Megacrysts of anorthoclase occur in the tuffs and have been the subject of recent research. The locality provides insight into the conditions under which this unusual range of minerals crystallise in alkali basalt.
Site information
Further information
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016…
Elie site is described in this publication :
Chapter 2. Scottish mineral geological conservation review sites: magmatic minerals
A. Livingstone & C.G. Smith. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 2023.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016787818301172
https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Ardross–Elie_Harbour_…
Excursion to the Elie Ness localities:
https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Ardross–Elie_Harbour_-_an_excursion
From: MacGregor, A.R. Third Edition. 1996. Fife and Angus geology: an excursion guide. Edinburgh:The Pentland Press.
https://www.mindat.org/loc-2900.html
some photographs on the MinDat.org webpage, plus map:
https://www.mindat.org/loc-2900.html
https://www.mindat.org/min-6110.html
link to Elie Ruby (= pyrope garnet)
https://www.mindat.org/min-6110.html
https://www.mindat.org/min-3321.html
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/assets/university/schools/scho…
leaflet on the Elie geology trail from St Andrews University
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/assets/university/schools/school-of-earth-and-environmental-sciences/documents/geoheritage-leaflets/geological-trail-of-elie.pdf
Related geosites
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