The Midland Valley, sandwiched between two of Scotland’s great fault lines, contains some of Scotland’s youngest rocks, including the coal fields. These lie above older, rifted continental crust. We’ll trace the development of the Midland Valley, from early volcanic activity associated with the closure of the Iapetus Ocean, through to the accumulation of coal and other sedimentary rocks at the Equator. And we will also consider the impact this tract of varied geology has had on people, in influencing settlement patterns, providing the raw materials of the industrial revolution and giving James Hutton clear examples to illustrate his Theory of the Earth.