Geology of County Durham

The geology of County Durham in northeast England consists of a basement of Lower Palaeozoic rocks overlain by a varying thickness of Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic sedimentary rocks which dip generally eastwards towards the North Sea. These have been intruded by a pluton, sills and dykes at various times from the Devonian Period to the Palaeogene. The whole is overlain by a suite of unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age arising from glaciation and from other processes operating during the post-glacial period to the present. The geological interest of the west of the county was recognised by the designation in 2003 of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a European Geopark.

This article describes the geology of the ceremonial county of Durham. It includes the boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees but not those former northeastern parts of the county which are now in the county of Tyne and Wear.

The word 'geology' may be traced back to a coinage of Richard de Bury who was a Bishop of Durham in the 14th century. He introduced the term geologia in his work The Philobiblon which he explained as 'the earthly science'.^: 8