Geological features of Tsukuba Science City

The plain on which Tsukuba Science City lies is called the Tsukuba Platform, about 20m above sea level. This platform connects to the Simosa　platform to the south of the Tone river. The platform is made up of soil approximately a few tens of thousands of years old known as the "Simosa group" from the late Quaternary Period of the Cenozoic Era. The Simosa group is soil accumulated in the bay that, at the time, dipped inland into what is now the Kanto Plain. On top of that is a layer of volcanic ash soil called "Kanto loam." The cored samples near the wall show the way the different types of soil are layered. The exhibit also includes fossils of shellfish that inhabited the then inland bay in clusters.
Unlike the platform, Mt. Tsukuba, which towers behind Tsukuba Science City, is composed of hard rocks. Gabbro, the object of worship at the Mt. Tsukuba Shrine, is found near the summit. Granite and metamorphic rock (crystalline schist) are found from the middle of the mountain to its base, and along the hills to the east. Meanwhile, in the mountains to the north are granite and sedimentary rocks of accretionary complexes from the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. Specimens of these rocks are exhibited in the "Geology of Tsukuba Science City" corner. On the wall is a rock plate which shows granitic magma penetrating into the sedimentary layer.