Old Red Sandstone

Old Red Sandstone

      thick sequence of Devonian (Devonian Period) rocks (formed from 416 million to 359.2 million years ago) that are continental rather than marine in origin and occur in northwestern Europe, Scandinavia, Greenland, and northeastern Canada. Deposits of Old Red Sandstone have been extensively studied in Great Britain, where local and regional stage names have been applied. The rocks were deposited in structural basins between the ranges of the Caledonian Mountains (Caledonian orogenic belt), which were also formed during the Devonian Period when a section of northwestern Europe collided with a landmass made up of parts of present-day North America and Greenland. Thick deposits of sand and mud, 11,000 metres (36,000 feet) deep and often stained red by oxidized iron minerals present, slowly accumulated in these sinking basins. The sediments are poorly sorted and quite variable; cross-bedded sandstones, mud-cracked siltstone and shale, and raindrop impressions all occur. The sandstones are red, green, and gray, whereas the shales are gray. Plant and animal fossils occur in these deposits; the fossil fauna is characterized by primitive, often armoured fishes. Late in this succession came the first terrestrial tetrapod vertebrates, which are thought to have inhabited freshwater streams and rivers.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Old Red Sandstone — Stratigraphic range: Late Silurian to earliest Carboniferous Cross section showing quartz and chert pebbles in a sample from central England (scale bar is 10 mm). Type Geological formation …   Wikipedia

  • Old red sandstone — Old Old, a. [Compar. {Older}; superl. {Oldest}.] [OE. old, ald, AS. ald, eald; akin to D. oud, OS. ald, OFries. ald, old, G. alt, Goth. alpeis, and also to Goth. alan to grow up, Icel. ala to bear, produce, bring up, L. alere to nourish. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Old red sandstone — (engl., spr. ohld redd ßänndston, »alter roter Sandstein«), ca. 4000 m mächtige Schichtengruppe braunroter Sandsteine und Konglomerate, Vertreter des Devons in England, des Oberdevons in Nordamerika …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Old Red Sandstone — Diesem Artikel fehlen folgende wichtige Informationen: Genauere Angaben zu Schichtfolge, Fossilinhalt und Vorkommen, besonders zum ORS außerhalb Englands Du kannst Wikipedia helfen, indem du sie recherchierst und einfügst. Der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • old red sandstone — noun Usage: usually capitalized O&R&S : a thick series of fragmental chiefly sandstone rocks of nonmarine origin, predominantly red in color, and representing the Devonian system in some parts of Great Britain and elsewhere in northwestern Europe …   Useful english dictionary

  • Old Red Sandstone — noun a red sedimentary rock …   Wiktionary

  • Red sandstone — may refer to: *Old Red Sandstone *New Red Sandstone …   Wikipedia

  • Old-Red-Sandstein — Schichtffläche des Old Red Sandsteins mit Quarz und Kieselschiefer Geröllen; Zentralengland; Maßstab ist 10 mm lang …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Old-Red-Fazies — Diesem Artikel fehlen folgende wichtige Informationen: Genauere Angaben zu Schichtfolge, Fossilinhalt und Vorkommen, besonders zum ORS außerhalb Englands Du kannst Wikipedia helfen, indem du sie recherchierst und einfügst. Der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Old Red — Diesem Artikel fehlen folgende wichtige Informationen: Genauere Angaben zu Schichtfolge, Fossilinhalt und Vorkommen, besonders zum ORS außerhalb Englands Du kannst Wikipedia helfen, indem du sie recherchierst und einfügst. Der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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