Palaeomagnetic results from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, English Lake District

Palaeomagnetic results are reported from 47 sites within the Borrowdale Volcanic Group of late Llanvirnian—Llandeilian age. The mean stable remanence direction is D= 329°, I= − 49° (α95= 7°) after alternating field demagnetization and correction for tectonic dip. The corresponding palaeomagnetic pole position is 0°, 203° E. This pole differs from both older and younger Lake District Ordovician poles but the differences are more likely to arise from local geological complexity, sampling problems and the limitations of available statistical methods than from true polar wander. It is suggested that no systematic polar movement relative to the British Isles can be inferred during Ordovician time. An overall Ordovician pole position for the British Isles is calculated from the present result and eight others to be in the vicinity of 7°s N, 190°E (α95= 9°).