Geology of Cornwall

Cornwall forms the tip of the south-west peninsula of the island Great Britain, and is therefore exposed to the full force of the prevailing winds that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean.

However, there are also many extensive stretches of fine golden sand which form the beaches that are so important to the tourist industry, such as those at St Ives, Hayle, Perranporth and Newquay.

The south coast, dubbed the riviera, is somewhat more sheltered and there are several broad estuaries formed by drowned valleys or rias that offer safe anchorages to seafarers, such as at Falmouth and Fowey.

The interior of the county consists of a roughly east–west spine of infertile and exposed upland, with a series of granite intrusions, such as Bodmin Moor, which contains the highest land within Cornwall.

These intrusions are the central part of the granite outcrops of south-west Britain, which include Dartmoor to the east in Devon and the Isles of Scilly to the west, the latter now being partially submerged.

The intrusion of the granite into the surrounding sedimentary rocks[3] gave rise to extensive metamorphism and mineralisation,[4] and this led to Cornwall being one of the most important mining areas in Europe until the early 20th century.

[5] Alteration of the granite also gave rise to extensive deposits of china clay (kaolinite), especially in the area to the north of St Austell, and this remains one of Cornwall's most important industries.

[citation needed] Geological studies were made worthwhile due to the economic importance of mines and quarries: about forty distinct minerals have been identified from type localities in Cornwall, e. g. endellionite from St Endellion.