The Geology of Great Britain / 英国的地质

Although Great Britain is a small island, its geology is very complex. Great Britain together with parts of Europe was actually formed from 3 landmasses that had drifted from near the South Pole. These landmasses collided with the first collision occurring 430 million years ago. This collision welded England and Scotland together and created the mountains in Scotland. Two further collisions created southern England and the Alps.

虽然大不列颠是一个小岛，但它的地质非常复杂。大不列颠和欧洲的一部分实际上是由三块从南极附近漂移过来的陆块形成的。这些陆块发生碰撞，第一次碰撞发生在四亿三千万年前。这次碰撞把英格兰和苏格兰融合在一起，同时形成了苏格兰的山脉。随后又有两次碰撞形成了英格兰南部和阿尔卑斯山。

Because Great Britain is constructed from 3 separate landmasses it does suffer from earthquakes, although these earthquakes are never as severe as in China. The largest earthquake recorded in modern times was 6.1 on the Richter scale and took place in 1931 off the east coast of England. There are no active volcanoes in Great Britain but the remains of extinct volcanoes can still be found. Edinburgh Castle in Scotland actually sits on top of the plug of an extinct volcano.

因为英国由三个独立的陆地组成，所以会有地震，虽然这些地震从来没有中国的地震那么严重。现代记录中最大的地震是在1931年发生在英格兰东海岸的里氏6.1级地震。英国没有活火山，但仍然可以看到死火山的遗迹。实际上，苏格兰的爱丁堡城堡就建在一个死火山的岩塞上。

Just as China has the Qinling-Huaihe Line which splits China into 2 parts geologically, Great Britain has an equivalent line called the Tees-Ex Line. The name of this line is derived from the 2 end points of this line; the mouth of the River Tees in North East England and the mouth of the River Ex in the South West of England. North of this line is mountainous terrain with primarily igneous and metamorphic rocks whereas south of this line the rocks are mostly sedimentary.

就像中国有秦岭-淮河线将中国地质上分为两部分一样，英国也有一条类似的线叫做Tees-Ex线。这条线的名字来源于它的两个端点：英格兰东北的Tees河口和英格兰西南的Ex河口。线的北部是以火成岩和变质岩为主的山区，而线的南部岩石大多数是沉积岩。

Climate has had a major effect on shaping the landscape of Great Britain. For millennia, much of England was underwater and experienced a tropical climate. When the sea level dropped large areas of chalk, limestone and sandstone were formed. Great Britain has also experienced several ice ages which covered the land with snow and ice as far south as southern England. This has left the characteristic U-shaped valleys in Scotland and North West England, and left deposits of terminal moraine throughout England.

气候对塑造英国的地貌有很大影响。几千年来，大部分英格兰都被水覆盖，并经历了热带气候。当海平面下降时，形成了大片的白垩岩、石灰岩和砂岩。英国也经历了几次冰河时期，冰雪覆盖了土地，一直到英格兰南部。这在苏格兰和英格兰西北部留下了典型的U型山谷，并在英格兰各地留下了终碛沉积物。

Naturally, the geology of Great Britain has determined how the land is used. North of the Tees-Ex Line, there is substantially more sheep and cattle farming. Coal and mineral extraction also occurs in this area. South of the Tees-Ex Line, the land is much flatter and the climate is somewhat warmer. Consequently, agriculture is dominant and agricultural machinery can be more easily used.

很自然，英国的地质决定了土地的使用方式。在特斯-埃克斯线以北，绵羊和牛的养殖场更多。这一地区也有煤炭和矿产开采。而在特斯-埃克斯线以南，土地更平坦，气候也稍微有点儿暖。因此，农业占主导地位，也更容易应用农业机械。