Darwin`s rock on Moel Tryfan
Moel Tryfan above Rhosgadfan in Gwynedd,has an important place in the history of Wales and the history of geological studies. The foel was formed by two conflicting ice sheets some 20 - 30 thousand years ago.The first dredged up materials including shells from the ocean floor,depositing them on the Foel, then the Welsh ice sheet pushed clay and rock from the mountains, dumping it on and sealing the top.
The Foel became a battleground between those that believed that the sea shells on top of the mountain were carried there by the Biblical flood, and who were forming the theory of Glaciology. Indeed, such was the significance of Moel Tryfan , that Charles Darwin himself visited and studied the site in 1842.
Moel Tryfan is a rugged, somewhat inhospitable place , surrounded by abandoned slate quarries, one of which Cors y Bryniau Quarry, gave it`s name to the first published volume by the Welsh author Kate Roberts.It is however a place of great beauty, especially as the setting sun cast it`s glow on the rocks,jutting from the summit.
Darwin`s rock on Moel Tryfan
Moel Tryfan above Rhosgadfan in Gwynedd,has an important place in the history of Wales and the history of geological studies. The foel was formed by two conflicting ice sheets some 20 - 30 thousand years ago.The first dredged up materials including shells from the ocean floor,depositing them on the Foel, then the Welsh ice sheet pushed clay and rock from the mountains, dumping it on and sealing the top.
The Foel became a battleground between those that believed that the sea shells on top of the mountain were carried there by the Biblical flood, and who were forming the theory of Glaciology. Indeed, such was the significance of Moel Tryfan , that Charles Darwin himself visited and studied the site in 1842.
Moel Tryfan is a rugged, somewhat inhospitable place , surrounded by abandoned slate quarries, one of which Cors y Bryniau Quarry, gave it`s name to the first published volume by the Welsh author Kate Roberts.It is however a place of great beauty, especially as the setting sun cast it`s glow on the rocks,jutting from the summit.