In photos: The UK's geologic wonders

Publish date: 2022-04-26

UK's Geologic Wonders

Photos of Scotland's green and rocky landscape and Wales' weathered limestone are just two of the winning entries for this year's "Our Restless Earth" photography competition, held by The Geological Society of London. The contest celebrates the 50th anniversary of plate tectonic theory, which is why the winning photos portray "the dynamic processes which have shaped the UK and Ireland over its tectonic history, from ancient volcanic activity to ice age glaciers," according to the society.

Live Science is including winning photos submitted to the society from the past three years. All of the winning entries will be made into a calendar for the coming year.

Subterranean

Photographer Gina Williams snapped this photo of the White Scar Caves in Yorkshire in Northern England.

The amphitheatre

This beautiful scene, dubbed "The Amphitheatre" by photographer Nigel Bell, is near the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Assynt

The Assynt region of Scotland has greenery as far as the eye can see.

Loch Maree

Photographer Emma Smith snapped this photo from a cliff top overlooking Loch Maree in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland.

Connemara National Park

Get an eyeful of the vastly different ecosystems of Connemara National Park in Ireland's Galway County.

Laminated sandstones

Photographer Milena Farajewicz took this photo of the laminated sandstones on Gullane beach in Scotland. The term laminated refers to the small layers, or laminae, that can occur in sandstone.

Limestone weathering

These dramatically sculpted rocks are weathered limestone. Photographer Kevin Privett took the photo of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, in the United Kingdom.

Lulworth crumple

This delightful rock arch and piles upon piles of rock layers can be seen at Lulworth Cove in Dorset, in southern England. Photographer Mark Godden named the photo "Lulworth Crumple," in reference to the rock's crushed and creased appearance.

Mam Tor

The sun illuminates distant peaks in this photo by Wayne Brittle, who walked around the of Mam Tor, or "mother hill," in Derbyshire, England.

Midges and rain

This long exposure captured cascades of water in front of a peak in Glencoe, Scotland.

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