A microscopic view of French Meudon chalk, part of the chalk downland of Northern Europe made from was ooze accumulating at the bottom of a great sea. Chalk was one of the earliest rocks made up of microscopic particles to be studied under the microscope, when it was found to be composed almost entirely of coccoliths. Their shells were made of calcite extracted from the rich seawater. As they died, a substantial layer gradually built up over millions of years and, through the weight of overlying sediments, eventually became consolidated into rock.

---

Size: 3643px × 3600px
Location: France
Photo credit: © De Luan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 19th, ancient, antiquarian, antiquity, aquatic, art, biology, black, calcite, cell, century, chalk, coccoliths, creatures, downlands, drawing, earth, engraving, etching, french, geology, graphic, heritage, historic, history, icon, iconic, illustration, invertabrates, life, line, lithograph, marine, meudon, microbiology, microscopic, monochrome, multitude, nature, oceans, pictorial, picture, rock, rocks, science, sea, seas, seawater, sedimentary, shells, single, sketch, study, tiny, white, woodcut, zoology