Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
AREA 1: WEST CORNWALL
A remarkable feature of the peninsula of West Cornwall (Figs 50 and 51), as it narrows
towards Land's End, is the contrast between the spectacular coastal scenery and the
scenery inland. The rocky coastal cliffs and sharply indented coves reflect West Corn-
wall's exposure to the prevailing Atlantic storms, and contrast starkly with the inland
scenery of rolling - though often rocky -hillsides, carved into a network of small val-
leys and streams.
The main features of the inland landscape appear to have formed over millions
of years, and ultimately reflect the bedrock pattern that has been inherited from the
Variscan mountain building that ended 300 million years ago. In contrast, the coastal
landscape is clearly much younger, and much of it has been produced by changes in
sea level that have occurred since the last main cold phase of the Ice Age, some 10,000
years ago. There is some evidence of earlier sea levels but this is more difficult to eval-
uate, as it has generally been removed by more recent erosional events.
FIG
50.
Location map for Area 1.
I have divided West Cornwall into three Landscapes (
A
to
C
), each with distinct-
ive bedrock geology (Fig. 52).
Landscape A: Granite areas
The Isles of Scilly (
A1
; Fig. 53) are formed by the westernmost significant granite bod-
ies of southwestern England. They lie some 45 km southwest of Land's End, scattered
over an area approximately 20 km by 15 km. Most of the 150 islands are little more
than bare outcrops of granite, sometimes largely submerged at high tide. The landscape
is windswept and mainly treeless, with heathlands where the ground has not been cul-
