Dartmoor’s Glaciers

On our last walk we discussed glacial features Dartmoor. To some people this was surprising, because conventionally we are told that in the UK ice never reached the West Country.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to take take part in a guided walk organised by the South West branch of the Royal Geographical Society. It was led by Dr Stephan Harrison of the University Of Exeter and over the course of the day he outlined how  he came to the conclusion that in the past Dartmoor had its own ice-cap and as a consequence glaciers and their associated features, along with Exmoor and parts of Cornwall.

Dartmoor has long been believed to be an example of a periglacial landscape, shaped by extreme cold but not by the movement of ice. Dr Harrison’s work included climate modelling and examination of landscape features in the field. He suggests that although in previous glaciations the main ice-sheet was to the north, on at least one occasion cold based ice-caps formed on high ground in the South West of England. On the edges of the cap ice was able to flow and is evidenced by classic glacial feature including over-steepened valleys, polished rock faces and moraine. There are some geomorphologists who argue that these features can be explained by other processes because the evidence is subtle and open to interpretation.

Why is this significant? This is a good example of the scientific method as a valuable way to understand our surroundings. As a geographer I think that it is important to know understand the processes that have shaped the world we live in. This is knowledge that has value in its own right. However we also live in a time of environmental and climate change. If we can accurately model what has happened we can perhaps more understand the present and predict future change.

If you would like to know more the links below may help:

dro.dur.ac.uk/9653/

www.dartmoorsociety.com/debates/2012_research_lecture

https://www.nhbs.com/the-quaternary-glaciation-of-dartmoor-book

Dartmoor Magazine (https://dartmoormagazine.co.uk/back-issues/page/2/) has also run an article about this as part of their ‘Understanding the Dartmoor Landscape’ series.

www.rgs.org/

https://www.facebook.com/Royal-Geographical-Society-South-West-with-IBG-575471292785658/