Geology of Cornwall

The rocks of Cornwall have an amazing story to tell. They have been on a journey of 8,000 miles in just 400 million years. This journey has included tropical seas, deserts, volcanic eruptions and hot granites, mineral vapours rich in tin and copper and ever-changing climate and sea levels. (Cornish Geology)

A true force of nature.

Cornish geology typically consists of black, folded slates and pale grey, blocky granites. But there are exceptions:

Polzeath Beach (north coast on the Camel estuary): Stripy slate formations in purple and pale greens.

Kynance Beach (south-west on the Lizard peninsula): Serpentinite cliffs are made up of dark green and red rocks, polished by thousands of years of crashing waves to look like shiny snakeskin.

Up on the cliffs by Chapel Porth on the north coast the rocks were lighter and redder.

And at Boscastle (north coast, north Cornwall) I was intrigued by huge lumps of marble-like granite rocks along the pathway and on tops of Cornish stone walls.