Underwater volcanoes in Connemara, the work of one Finn Mac Cool, Ireland's life in the Caribbean, and the Mississippi delta connection in Clare . . . who said geology was all about rock bores and boring rocks?
Not a pair of scientists at NUI Galway, who have written what they claim is the first lay person's guide to the evolution of this island.
No previous knowledge of earth sciences is necessary to understand the text, according to Dr Michael Williams and Dr David Harper. The two scientists, one of whom has since left for a new job in Denmark, are not presenting a "rigorous analysis" of Irish geology. Rather, they are attempting to give a simple account of the extraordinary set of circumstances which led to this island's presence on the western Atlantic.
The book starts out with creation and winds up with baked fossils and controversy on the Antrim coast. Catchy sub-headings tempt the reader to explore some complex geological concepts; the authors point out that geological discoveries are constantly being made and the book is a set of stepping stones to full understanding.
They describe how the island would have been a holidaymaker's paradise 350 million years ago when the sea flooded the surface of a little island about 10 degrees north of the Equator. Yes, Ireland was located near to where the Bahamas are today and was surrounded by shallow, subtropical seas. Proof of this is our souvenir of carboniferous landscape, the best known area being the Burren in Co Clare.
The authors describe the great volcanoes of 500 million years ago, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the great glaciers of this island. They record how the cracking open of the crust to form the Atlantic Ocean had a major effect on European economy, with a number of subsiding basins becoming prime sites for petroleum.
Most oil-producing fields can be found in fairly young rocks with high organic content, such as those of the North Sea and off the Irish coast. They believe there is "undoubtedly" oil and gas in many of the Irish basins, but they point out that the deepwater environment means the cost of extraction is far higher than in North Sea fields.
New technology is changing all that, however, and the inevitable increase in oil prices will surely make the Atlantic economically viable.
The book includes trail guides, covering Connemara, south Donegal, Clare and the Burren, the Dingle peninsula, Wexford and the Antrim coast. Curiously, Slieve League doesn't get much of a mention in south Donegal, and the inclusion of more detailed maps would have been useful. The text has a detailed glossary.
The Making of Ireland: Landscapes in Geology by Dr Michael Williams and Dr David Harper, is produced by Immel Publishing at £24.95, hardback.