Pebble identification

[Rhiannon]

Can anyone recommend a good field guide to UK pebbles and stones, either on-line or hard copy? I've tried googling and not found anything and the photos in the (limited) books that I've looked at have photos chosen for their wow factor rather than their resemblance to anything you are likely to find on the average beach.

Thanks!

[Shaker]

I am contributing to a thread on pebbles on a Saturday evening. Have me put down now 

The best I can recommend is any book on rocks as published by Dorling Kindersley. The name may mean nothing but they do a fantastic series (of which I have several - for example, butterflies and moths as that's my bag, though not the one on rocks and minerals) which are relatively cheap and absolutely beautifully illustrated in full colour with spankingly clear, sharp photographs throughout. Have a look on a well-known online bookseller's website *cough*

Hope this helps anyway.

[Rhiannon]

I find pebbles completely and utterly captivating and can't think of anything better to discuss, weekends or otherwise.

Actually I like moths and butterflies too - in that order.

Thank you, I shall have a look forthwith.

[Shaker]

I suppose you've found this sort of thing already:

http://www.beachstonesinspired.com/beach-stones-identification.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Field-Guide-Identification-Pebbles/dp/1550173952

[Rhiannon]

Yep. 

I know that carnelian and jasper turn up on the east coast, yet according to the index of the DK/RSPB book I've just 'looked inside' on youknowwhere they don't feature in the book.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Can anyone recommend a good field guide to UK pebbles and stones

Thanks!

Have you tried waterSTONES?

[Rhiannon]

Please stop. 

[ekim]

You could try  'The Hamlyn Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils' but it doesn't have pebbles.

[Rhiannon]

That's a good point - most books show rocks as they are on leaving the ground. The thing with beach pebbles on particular is that they have been sea-worn and don't look much like the raw stuff. Some I can still identify easily - granite, flint, quartz - but others I can't.

[Enki]

Hi Rhi,

I can't help you on books on pebbles, but I do find the Oxford Book on Insects by John Burton to be very useful for identifying most moths(especially macro-moths) and butterflies though.

The Hamlyn Guide on Dragonflies and Damselflies is good, as is the one on Butterflies.

The butterflies of Britain and Ireland by Thomas and Lewington published though Dorling Kindersley and the national Trust is extremely good both for its illustrations and its information.

[Rhiannon]

Thanks, Enki, I have books that are comprehensive on UK butterflies but moths seem to be neglected. When we move I hope to have space for a natural-style pond so maybe we will get damselflies and dragonflies visiting.

[cyberman]

Not a book, which of course is what you really want when you're pottering on the beach - but I did find this website. You have probably already seen it, but here it is http://www.beachstonesinspired.com/

[Shaker]

She's seen it.

[cyberman]

oops, sorry  - just read back and realised you've already been there. My bad.

[Rhiannon]

No worries, Cyberman, thanks for trying to help. 

[Anchorman]

If you can get a hold of a copy of the Observer's book of rocks and minerals, that might help...and it would be pocket sized.
You might have to try ebay or some similar site.

[Samuel]

Its a tricky thing Rhiannon because beaches can be littered with all sorts of stones from all over the world.

If you are focusing on one particular beach or gegraphical area then as a starting point I would try to familiarise yourself with the bedrock geology, particularly those layers that may be contributing material to the beach through erosion e.g. If you are anywhere near Chalk then you are likely to have beaches covered in flint and chert pebbles. Another factor is long shore drift, which basically relates to the dominant wave direction pushing material along the coast generally in one direction. Taking in long shore drift can help identify some pebbles that mgiht come from a slightly extended geographical area. Round my way there are beautiful purple quartzite pebbles that all come from one layer of rock that is being eroded on the coast about 50 miles to the west.

If you can get your head around the local stuff you'll have a basline knowldge that will help you spot the more unusual material... and as I said that can include all kinds of stone.

Typically only really hard stuff lasts long enought to travel very far, or last a long time on a beach, meaning you're probablylooking at igneous and metamorphic rocks for the exotic pebbles you might come across. Watch out for man made material that has been rounded off - brick, concrete, tarmac etc. I'd also reccomend checking out any rock armour near to where you have collected things. That stuff might have come from miles away. A popular one is a dark, hard rock from Norway that appears a little like granite and has nice big crystals in it that can shimmer blue/green... I forget its proper name... anyway bits can get knowcked off that sort of things and end up in the pebbles. The other main source of oddities is ships ballast that has been dumped or washed out of wrecks. This can obviously tie into some pretty cool scocial history and come from anywhere in the world.

none of this is very helpful as a simply guide to identifying pebbloes... but I hope you can see that what you can find is so messy that its best to start with a process of elimination rahter than outright identification.