Cheddar Gorge
Coordinates: 51 ° 17 ′ 4 " N , 2 ° 45 ′ 40" W.
The Cheddar Gorge is located near the village of Cheddar in the Mendip Hills in Somerset in England . It is the largest canyon in the United Kingdom and is home to numerous caves . In 1903, the oldest complete human skeleton in Britain, the approximately 9,000 year old " Cheddar Man ", was found in Gough's Cave . Remains from the Upper Paleolithic 13,000 to 12,000 years ago also come from here.
The canyon was formed in the Ice Age when meltwater formed carts that widened into a canyon. After the Ice Age, the limestone thawed and became permeable, so that the surface water seeped away and left a dry valley . The Mendip Hills and the nearby Somerset Levels are a walking area.
canyon
The nearly five kilometers long canyon and the caves, which have interesting rock formations and other features, are a tourist attraction. Among the natural wonders of Britain, Cheddar Gorge is only surpassed by Dan-yr-Ogof Cave in Wales , according to a 2005 survey . The walls of the gorge , which is up to 113 meters deep, are made of limestone , the overburden is made of red sandstone . The Yeo River only flows through the lower part of the canyon. There is a path of 274 steps that leads out of the gorge and is called Jacob's ladder according to the biblical description of the ladder to heaven . From a tower on top there is a 360-degree view of the gorge and the village.
caves
The caves of Cheddar Gorge and the Wookey Hole Caves , ten kilometers away, are inhabited by colonies of the large and small horseshoe bat , two rare bat species. Gough's Cave, about 400 meters long, was discovered in 1890 and the smaller, more colorful Cox's Cave , discovered in 1837, are show caves named after those who discovered them. Studies of bones found in Gough's Cave indicate cannibalism among residents who immigrated from Spain and France around 14,700 years ago.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Robin McKie: Bones from a Cheddar Gorge cave show that cannibalism helped Britain's earliest settlers survive the ice age. The Observer , June 20, 2010.