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Old Red Sandstone

Old Red Sandstone, series of red and brown sandstones, conglomerates, and shales deposited in Wales and Scotland and in England near the Welsh and Scottish borders in the Devonian period of geologic time. The Old Red Sandstone, in contrast to the typical formations of the Devonian, is largely a continental formation, laid down in freshwater and on land as a result of the erosion of the highlands of the Silurian period. It is very thick in Scotland and contains a large assemblage of well-preserved fossils, particularly of the Devonian fishes. The Old Red Sandstone was correlated with the marine Devonian by the British geologists Rodney Murchison and Adam Sedgwick. The New Red Sandstone is a thick red sandstone of Permian and Triassic age found in the British Isles.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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Related content from HighBeam Research on: Old Red Sandstone

Timing of deformation within Old Red Sandstone lithologies from the Dingle Peninsula, SW Ireland (Journal of the Geological Society)

An Eifelian U-Pb zircon date for the Enagh Tuff Bed from the Old Red Sandstone of the Munster Basin in NW Iveragh, SW Ireland (Journal of the Geological Society)

A quantitative approach to soil occurrence in alluvial deposits and its application to the Old Red Sandstone of Britain (Journal of the Geological Society)

Palaeomagnetic constraints on the age of the Red Arch Formation and associated sandstone dykes (Northern Ireland) (Journal of the Geological Society)

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Rediscovering Arizona onyx: after years of working with Arizona sandstone and flagstone, Stoneworld International has reopened an historic site that contains a unique variety of onyx.(Re-Emerging U.S. Stone Industry, Arizona Onyx Co.) (Stone World)

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Way down South in...Utah: Dixie has it all; mild weather, red rock hiking, historic lodging, golf--even a little cotton. (Travel/Recreation).(St. George, Utah) (Sunset)

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