Study Reveals the Mystery of the Dartmoor Tors

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In South West England, there is an upland National Park which contains extensive moorland and some very unique naturally-occurring rock sculptures caused by exposed granite hilltops known as tors. This popular tourist destination is also rich in history, having vast sites of antiquity and archaeology. However, the main draw of the park is the mystical beauty of the rock sculptures. Over the years, there have been theories conjured as to how its famed tors came about. A new study for researchers from the Universities of Durham and Exeter, and Stockton Riverside College found that Dartmoor was once covered by an ice cap and valley glaciers. This proves that the last ice age had covered nearly the whole of Great Britain.

In South West England, there is an upland National Park which contains extensive moorland and some very unique naturally-occurring rock sculptures caused by exposed granite hilltops known as tors. This popular tourist destination is also rich in history, having vast sites of antiquity and archaeology. However, the main draw of the park is the mystical beauty of the rock sculptures. Over the years, there have been theories conjured as to how its famed tors came about. A new study for researchers from the Universities of Durham and Exeter, and Stockton Riverside College found that Dartmoor was once covered by an ice cap and valley glaciers. This proves that the last ice age had covered nearly the whole of Great Britain.

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Using aerial photography, the researchers found clear evidence of glacial features including elongated rounded mounds and moraines. Similar features are also believed to be present in other upland areas of southwest England.

Dartmoor has the largest area of exposed granite in all of Britain. This granite has been used for many things including construction of the British Museum, National Gallery, Covent Garden, and even the London Bridge in Arizona.

The tors have obtained their unique shapes from the deep weathering of the wind and rain, freezing and thawing. Most believed that glaciers of the last ice age had not reached this region of England, but the researchers beg to differ. They say it is glacial forces that shaped the tors. They estimate the ice cap as 80 square kilometers and up to 100 meters thick on the highest summits of Dartmoor.

Professor David Evans, Department of Geography, Durham University said: "The Dartmoor tors tell a story of ancient landscape development but that story has a surprising ice-cold twist. The story is more complicated than we have traditionally believed. A landscape that has been regarded as a classic example of cold, non-glacial processes was in fact covered by a glacial ice cap. Dartmoor was the location of the southernmost independent ice cap in the British Isles, the evidence for which is so subtle that researchers had missed it for almost 100 years."

The Dartmoor National Park has achieved fame across Britain for hosting the Ten Tors event, a hiking race organized by the British Army. In early May, 2,400 individuals participated, broken into teams of 4-6. The objective is to touch ten tors located on individual hilltops using a variety of routes. It has become a test of endurance, navigation, and survival skills over long distances, challenging terrain, and potentially bad weather.

The study has been published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews

For more information: http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/index.htm

Dartmoor image via Shutterstock