Old or New Red Sandstone? Evolution of a Ninteenth Century Stratigraphic Debate, Northern Scotland

The Old Red Sandstone crops out on the margins of the Moray Firth, northern Scotland, from Caithness on the north through Sutherland and Ross to Moray on the south. The New Red Sandstone occurs in the vicinity of Elgin, on the southern shore of the Moray Firth. The rocks comprising the Old and New Red Sandstone are lithologically similar and distinguishing them is problematical as fossil material is scarce. The stratigraphic relationship of the Old and New Red Sandstone in northern Scotland, the subject of research and debate since the late eighteenth century, was generally agreed upon by the late nineteenth century. Age determinations were made possible by advances in understanding of the geologic time scale, regional geologic mapping, and by the discovery of fossil fish and reptiles. The resolution of the stratigraphic debate concerning the Old and New Red Sandstones was the result of the collaboration between geologists who lived in the region with distant, metropolitan scientists. Two local geologists who contributed to the research on the Old and New Red Sandstones of northern Scotland were Rev. Dr. George Gordon (1801-93) of Birnie, near Elgin, and Rev. Dr. James Joass (1829-1914) of Edderton and Golspie. They published their research in major scientific journals and worked with Roderick Impey Murchison. Their reputations as scientists were of such stature that they each received the LL.D. from Aberdeen University.