Fossils and Geology of Portgower, North Scotland. Fossil Collecting & Geological Guides

Introduction to Portgower

What looks like an ordinary rocky beach, covered in seaweed is actually rich in ammonites and shells, though you need to work to find them. At Portgower the rocks exposed are from the Jurassic and if split can yield flat ammonites and shells.

Portgower - North Scotland
Last updated: [07/05/04] last visited 2003

(Portgower Foreshore) - 2003

Location Information

This location has been classified as 'Medium' corals are quite common here, but they are poorly preserved and you have to look for them in sandy deposits. The seaweed makes collecting difficult.

(Suitable for Families)

Portgower is suitable for families, although the fossils are poorly preserved. This location is not recommended to beginners.

Portgower is east to find just before Helmsdale but there is no official car parking. The walk is also quite difficult over the rocky foreshore.

Foreshore

There are no cliffs at Portgower, all of the fossils come from sales which are exposed during scouring conditions.

There are 'NO' restrictions to this location

! IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES !

Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. Care should be taken on the foreshore as this can be slippery.

Other Jurassic Coastal sites in Scotland

There are a range of Jurassic Coastal sites in Scotland, most near Brora have been caused by the Helmsdale Fault. On the Isle of Skye, there are a number of coastal exposures including Bearreriag Bay, Elgol, Glasnakille, Faoilean. Other locations near to Portgower that are featured on UK Fossils are, Helmsdale, Golspie, Crakaig, Lothbeg, Kintradwell, Brora River, Balintore, Eathie and Brora Foreshore.

Other locations with Kimmeridge Clay are, Chapmans Pool, Kimmeridge Bay, Lothbeg, Portgower, Helmsdale, Balintore and Eathie, in Scotland, or Wyke Regis, Bowleaze Cove and Ringstead in Dorset.

Stone Tumblers (Lapidary)

Microscopes

Test Sieves for Particle Analysis

Stone Tumblers are used for tumbling and polishing rough rock, stones and pebbles including those found on the beach and glass.

Whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed, you could collect rocks, stones and glass from the beach and tumble then at home.

These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. The tumblers can be used with a variety of grits, most commonly Silicon Carbide Grit and Cerium Oxide. We have a wide range of rough rocks for sale too.

Microfossils are much easier to collect because they are so small that the vast majority of collections only concentrate on large finds. These small finds can simply be found by taking small samples of sands, crags, clays and soft rocks and examining them under a microscope.

We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, both for the study of fossils, but also educational and professional for use in the laboratory. We have Stereo microscopes, Compound Microscopes, Polarising Microscopes and Monocular Microscopes.

We have thousands of Test Sieves for Particle Analysis.

Endecotts Sieves: For accurate dependable results you can't buy a better test sieve than Endecotts. At every stage of manufacture each test sieve is individually inspected.

High Precision Tecan manufactures precision apertures as small as 3 microns for a wide array of applications such as filtering, sieving and nozzles. Its high-performance, ASTM/ISO compliant test sieves satisfy the most demanding fine particle grading requirements.

Images, Graphics & Content - (C)opyright 1998-2005 Alister Cruickshanks.
UK Fossils Management - Alister Cruickshanks & Roy Bullard
UK Fossils Curator - Ian Cruickshanks
UK Fossils is a division of CWA Design and run in conjunction with UKGE. Whilst we try to ensure that all content is accurate and up to date we cannot guarantee this. UK Fossils takes no responsibility in the accuracy of this content, nor takes any liabilities for any trips, events or exchanges between visitors using either the discussion board or the UK Fossils planner. Any posted trips and events by UK Fossils are personal and not arranged by UK Fossils, therefore visitors should seek their own personal insurance cover. Please remember to always check the tide times.
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Fossils and Scottish Fossil Collecting in Portgower Your North Scotland Geological Guide and Geology Info

Fossils and Scottish Fossil Collecting in Portgower Your North Scotland Geological Guide and
Geology Info