Holocene epoch

The last twelve thousand years are known as the Holocene Epoch. Amongst the most significant geological features created during this period are the peat deposits of Ireland and Scotland, and of coastal and upland areas of England and Wales. Many of the lowland deposits, such as the Somerset Levels, The Fens and Romney Marsh have recently been artificially drained.

Since humans began clearing the forest during the New Stone Age, most of the land has now been deforested, speeding the natural processes of erosion. Large quantities of stone, gravel and clay are extracted each year, and by 2000 11% of England was covered by roads or buildings.

At the present time Scotland is continuing to rise as a result of the weight of Devensian ice being lifted. Southern and eastern England is sinking, generally estimated at 1 mm (1/25 inch) per year, with the London area sinking at double the speed partly due to the continuing compaction of the recent clay deposits.

In addition, rises in sea level thought to be due to global warming appear likely to make low lying areas of land increasingly susceptible to flooding, while in some areas the coastline continues to erode at a geologically rapid rate.

Fossil fuels

The United Kingdom has large reserves of available fossil fuels. Natural gas, oil, and coal are all produced in the United Kingdom. Coal is mined from many areas in the United Kingdom from both deep mines and surface mines. In addition to the coal being mined on land, large reserves of oil and natural gas are being tapped in the North Sea.

Natural gas

As of 2008 the United Kingdom was the tenth largest producer of natural gas in the world. Natural gas reserves are concentrated in three areas: 1) associated fields in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf; 2) non-associated fields in the Southern Gas Basin, adjacent to the Dutch sector of the North Sea; and 3) non-associated fields in the Irish Sea.

Oil

The United Kingdom has an estimated 780 million tonnes of proved and probable oil reserves; most of these oil reserves are located on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf in the North Sea off the eastern coast of the United Kingdom. There are also sizable reserves in the North Sea north of the Shetland Islands, with smaller fields in the North Atlantic. Located in Dorset, the Wytch Farm field is the largest onshore oilfield in Europe with estimated recoverable reserves of 480 million barrels of crude oil

Coal

In 2007, 16,309,730 tonnes of coal were produced in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom coal is mined from both deep mines and surface mines. The majority of coal produced in England comes from underground mines, in Scotland most coal is mined from open-pit mines.

UK Coal is the United Kingdom’s largest coal mining company, producing approximately 8.7 million tonnes of coal annually from deep mines and surface mines, and possesses estimated reserves in excess of 200 million tonnes of coal. Total proved coal reserves in the United Kingdom are estimated at 220 million tonnes, although possible reserves could exceed 1 billion tonnes.

Metals

Metal production in the United Kingdom has decreased over the past century. Iron and copper are no longer mined in significant quantities in the United Kingdom due to the effects of globalization. Copper from Chile and North America, and iron ore from China, Brazil and Australia are higher grades of metals at lower costs, lowering demand from the United Kingdom’s copper and iron ore mines. Although large reserves of iron ore and copper are found in the United Kingdom, copper and iron ore are now largely imported from other countries.

Tin and lead is still being mined from deep mines located in England, Scotland and Wales. Silver is also mined in small quantities from deep mines and separated from lead ore. The United Kingdom has a large variety of important metals, but little metal is currently being mined in the United Kingdom.