Ancient story of Dartmoor tors has an ice-cold twist

Ice extended further across the UK than previously thought and played a part in sculpting the rocky landscape of Dartmoor in South West England during the last Ice Age, according to new research which challenges previously held theories. A study of the National Park area of Dartmoor, UK, shows for the first time that an ice cap and  valley glaciers were present in its centre and that the naturally castellated stone outcrops, known as tors, were survivors. The new research by the Universities of Durham and Exeter, and Stockton Riverside College, is published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews. Researchers, who carried out detailed observations on the ground and using aerial photography, say the evidence includes glacial features such as elongated rounded mounds or drumlins and hummocky landforms or moraines. Similar features may also exist in other upland areas of southwest England, indicating that small upland glaciers were regularly hosted in the region during periods of glaciation. Dartmoor represents one of the largest areas of exposed granite in Britain, some of which was used to construct parts of the British Museum, National Gallery and Covent Garden in London, and London Bridge in Arizona. It is also the location for the world-famous annual Ten Tors hike.