THE
ROCKS OF CORNWALL HAVE AN AMAZING STORY TO TELL:
A
journey of 8,000 miles in just 400 million years
Across
tropical seas and deserts
Volcanic
eruptions and hot granites
Mineral
vapours rich in tin and copper
Ever-changing
climate and sea levels
| |
Our
Cornish journey starts in an ancient tropical ocean south
of the equator; |
| Primitive
fish swim in the warm waters |
| Deserts
stretch north across England and Europe |
| You
can walk to America |
| |
| On
the horizon the African Super-Continent slowly
moves towards us |
|
| Volcanoes
erupt ash and lava |
| The
Ocean floor is squeezed away and The Lizard emerges |
| Further
north, Coal Measure swamps and deltas form |
| Continents
collide, buckling the strata |
| This
collision lasts for over 80 million years |
| Stretch
the rocks out flat again and Cornwall would
be 300 miles long |
| Cornwall
becomes part of Pangea. |
| |
Hot
granites from inside the earth rise and cool to form the
backbone of Cornwall
On
their margins veins rich in tin and copper await the arrival
of man
There's
still 250 million years to wait |
 |
Warm
seas lap our Cornubian Caribbean island while dinosaurs
roam the landmass further east
The
Atlantic Ocean finally opens up as Cornwall continues
its journey northwards
Chalk
and flint are deposited in the clear waters
Mass
extinction of dinosaurs and many other species happens
only 60 million years ago |
| Sea
levels fluctuate again and West Penwith becomes an island |
|
| Beaches
form at St Erth and St Agnes Beacon |
| Ice
sheets move southwards, missing Cornwall but there are
ice-bergs offshore |
| Sea
level drops over 300 feet and you could walk to France |
| Man
appears and has to contend with tundra conditions,
permafrost, cave dwellings, wolves and bears |
| What's
changed ? |
| |
The
Ice sheets melt, river valleys are flooded and the English
Channel cuts us off from Europe
Erosion
and weathering shape the Cornish landscape and form our magnificent
coastline
|
 |
Man
discovers the mineral legacy in our rocks
They
gave us mines, mineral wealth, building stones and
china clay
Cornish
inventors pushed back the frontiers of science and discovery
Poets,
writers and artists are inspired |
Now
let the rocks tell their story
Choose
your destination now...
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