The Central Lowlands is largely underlain by
Paleozoic formations. Many of these
sedimentary rocks have economic significance for it is here that the
coal and
iron bearing rocks that fueled
Scotland's
Industrial Revolution are to be found. This area has also experienced intense
volcanism,
Arthur's Seat in
Edinburgh being the remnant of a once much larger
volcano active in the
Carboniferous period some 300 million years ago. This area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the
Ochils and
Campsie Fells are rarely far from view. In common with the rest of Scotland the whole region was affected by
Pleistocene glaciations.
Boundary faults The
Highland Boundary Fault runs from North Glen Sannox on the
Isle of Arran in the south and west through the
Isle of Bute and
Helensburgh, then forms the northern boundary of
Strathmore before reaching
Stonehaven in the north east. The
fault was active during the
Caledonian orogeny, a
plate tectonic collision which took place from Mid
Ordovician to Mid
Devonian periods (520 to 400 million years ago), during the closure of the
Iapetus Ocean. The fault allowed the Midland Valley to descend as a major
rift by as much as 4000 metres and there was subsequently
vertical movement. This earlier vertical movement was later replaced by a horizontal shear. The
Southern Uplands Fault runs from the
Rhins of Galloway in the west towards
Dunbar on the east coast from
Edinburgh. ==Human geography==