Minerals & Maps

The Commercial

Having spent a year exploring some of the geology, ancient monuments and historic stone buildings in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Derbyshire – ending with a lashing by the wind and the rain on Curbar Edge – winter is a good time to reflect on past achievements and to plan the year ahead.

After lunch

An impressive display of minerals

With constant thoughts of being in much warmer and sunnier places – Spain or Italy for example - the English weather doesn’t motivate me and so I was very pleased to continue my association with the U3A Sheffield Geology Group, when meeting up at the Commercial Inn in Chapeltown.

About 25 members turned up to learn some more about minerals and geological maps, through a short series of excellent presentations and practical demonstrations.

It has been more than 35 years since I was introduced to the Mohs hardness scale, a ceramic tile and a fingernail - to physically investigate a mineral.

Together with the discreet use of other essential geologists’ tools - a steel knife and hydrochloric acid – the group soon learned how to undertake this task.

Following lunch, the afternoon was dedicated to the discussion of a provisional itinerary for the forthcoming season of field trips and an introduction to geological maps. Armed with protractors, rulers, pencils, rubbers and scrap paper, we all learned a thing or two.

An introduction to geological maps

I turned up with my rucksack full of miscellaneous items that I know are of interest to geologists but, on this occasion, I had no need to take them out – such was the enthusiasm that so obviously pervaded this meeting.

Minerals and geological maps