Dartmoor
How were the Dartmoor tors made?
About 300 million years ago and many thousands of feet beneath the earth's surface, the granite, which Dartmoor consists of, was injected as a semi-liquid material across a huge area. As it cooled, it solidified into solid rock. Over the years the rock which was above the granite eroded away gradually, until eventually the granite became exposed, a process that took millions of years. As the rock above the granite eroded, the granite expanded and cracked, this creating a system of horizontal and vertical cracks which became apparent. These cracks allowed water to seep into the rock, which gradually wore away at it and broke it up, some parts getting more heavily broken up than others. Many thousands of years ago, the Earth had a series of ice ages and the climate was extremely cold. When the ice melted in the intermittent thaws huge amounts of water poured down over the granite area. This continued process of water freezing and expanding in the cracks in the rock and also in the now exposed granite, helped with the breakdown of the granite. Over thousands and thousands of years the original granite surface has been literally washed away, leaving just the more resilient areas, known as the tors of Dartmoor. These tors have so far resisted the forces of nature, although they too are gradually being eaten away. On the slopes beneath many of the tors are boulders, these are the remains of rock which was broken off into smaller pieces in the ice ages, which have fallen to their present resting places, at the bases of the tors.
The area was at one time known as Dartmoor forest, a royal hunting ground covered by English Oak woodland. Centuries of farming, house and shipbuilding have depleted the original woodland - with only a few small areas of ancient woodland cover remaining, leaving a distinctive moorland landscape of gorse and heather, - punctuated by Dartmoor's distinctive Tors (high rocks) and cut by deep valleys, 'combes', and fast-flowing rivers and streams. Sheep, cattle and semi-wild Dartmoor ponies graze the moorland, whilst the wooded areas, provide homes for deer, badger and a vast array of wildlife. The countryside in the southeast is more conventionally beautiful, with rolling hills, wooded valleys and picturesque thatched villages.
