Lava tubes in the UK?
- Thread starter Lankyman
- Start date
Andy Farrant
Active member
Nope. Plenty of basaltic lava flows in the UK, mostly of Carboniferous and Paleogene age, but no lava tubes. That's not to say some might have formed when the lavas were erupted, but its highly unlikely they would be preserved as open cavities.
Bob Mehew
Well-known member
Gunna Mor on Staffa is probably the closest to a lava cave in the UK. Probable origin is a fairly large elongated bubble of CO2 in the lava rather than a stream of lava emptying out a space. The interior surface is quite different from that of the surrounding basalt columns. The tube was exposed by erosion and the name comes from the loud noise which occurs when a large wave hits the cliff and compresses air within the tube. See https://registry.gsg.org.uk/sr/sitedetails.php?id=858 for more detail.
Lankyman
Well-known member
I really must get to Staffa. Roll on the better weather!
I suppose then given the amount of geological time that has passed, that open tubes would be unlikely. Perhaps traces of infilled tubes would be all that's left (if anything).
Bob Mehew
Well-known member
The standard boat trip gives you 1 hour ashore. You should be able to make it across the island, duck into the curiosity of Gunna Mor and get back before it leaves but have little time for anything else. It would also be worth scheduling your time to avoid high tides as the traverse along the north side of Port an Fhasgaidh to get around the corner is around the high tide mark. The Grampian Speleological Group had 2 expeditions to the island in 2005 & 6 and surveyed all the caves around the coast over 10 days. I would suggest a better return for your time would be to visit MacKinnon's cave via Cormarants cave which required wading. As some of the trip boats make two visits a day, you might be able to negotiate a few hours on the island if the skipper is willing. Else it is a moderate journey by kayak from Gometra.
caving_fox
Active member
There's lava intrusions into a few caves here and there - Nettle pot is described as having some - I'm not sure I could point it out though.
Loki
Well-known member
The big bedding plane at the bottom of the 1st pitch that runs to Derbyshire hall is a lava bed I believe. Hence the dramatic increase in size of the cave below it due to the acidification of the water passing through it
Cantclimbtom
Well-known member
Same sort of thing going on if you look at James Hall Over Engine survey, the lava bed just above the height of the workshop is marked on the survey and it's a game of 2 halves, with a lot of mined/stoped above the lava and huge naturals below it
Pitlamp
Well-known member
Yes - but they're lava "beds" rather than intrusions. Lava is extrusive (i.e. it flows on the surface, rather than being intruded between existing older beds).
I agree with the comment above that, as most known British lava outcrops are ancient, it's most likely that any lava tubes have been lost to erosion long in the past or at best infilled with more recent sediment.
I've never had the chance to visit a lava tube. It's been on my bucket list for a long time. One day . . . .
Anyway, apart from that, happy Christmas everybody!
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