Monday 21 May 2007

Peveril Point - Searching for Microfossils!



What an enjoyable evening I had searching for fossils on Peveril Point - who would believe you could get so excited by the discovery of minute beany looking microfossils in a flaky piece of rock. A real eye opener! I forget all the specialized names now but to me thats not really important its the fact that these fossils are millions of years old and you can see them here on Peveril Point so easily and actually with the naked eye if you look really carefully.

What was also amazing was the identification of fish scales - they would appear on the surface of the rock as jet black gems - smooth and shiny - and passing your finger over them you could feel how they were raised slightly above the rock - very beautiful formations - quite unbelievable really.

Another favourite for me is the layers of rock that can be seen in the cliff face and how one can see the force of movement - where different strata have shifted to create a visible fold.

The variation in the rock that has fallen at Peveril Point is wonderful there are huge chunks that have broken away to reveal bands of protruding fossilized shells that feel rough to the touch.

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