St Catherine's Tor is no higher than the surrounding plateau but is isolated from it by a valley. In the valley is the little Speke's river and, beyon

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St Catherine's Tor is no higher than the surrounding plateau but is isolated from it by a valley. In the valley is the little Speke's river and, beyond the tor, the valley is now dissected by the sea. There are some indications that during the Anglian glaciation, 450,000 years ago, the ice cap was further south than had been thought and that, as it retreated the meltwater cut the valley that runs north to Hartland Quay. The tor was not then by the sea, which is eroding it away. On this west facing coast the Crackington formation is at 90 degrees to the coast line and the strata of the shore platform lead into the sea, forming sandstone reefs. Photographed on Hartland peninsula, Devon, UK.

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Size: 6894px × 2535px
Photo credit: © MARTYN F. CHILLMAID/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 450000, anglian, catherines, coast, crackington, devon, erosion, formation, geology, glaciation, hartland, landscape, meltwater, peninsula, platform, quay, reefs, sandstone, sea, shore, st, strata, tor, uk, valley, years