FOUR KEY PLACES TO UNDERSTAND EARTH

Siccar Point, UK

Deep time

Siccar Point is also known as Hutton’s unconformity because it inspired his theory of deep time. Hutton understood that the arrangement of slightly inclined strata overlying other, vertical strata would require multiple geological cycles and a vast amount of time. 

The lower layers had to be formed under the sea, become vertical and then be uplifted to be eroded. The upper layers would then settle on top of them, also under the sea, and the whole structure would rise again, exposing it to further erosion. Hence the term deep time.

Everest, Nepal-China

The dynamic Earth

Everest (8,849 m) is the highest mountain on Earth and is also the best monument to a dynamic and ever-changing planet. The rocks that now form its summit contain fossils of marine organisms that once lived in a tropical sea around 450 million years ago. 

Only a dynamic planet with active plate tectonics can place a seafloor at the top of the world in a few million years. Everest is the finest example of how landscapes and geography change on Earth. It’s simply a matter of time.

Ediacra Hills, Australia

Complex life

Ediacara Hills is the site where the oldest complex life forms known to science, known as Ediacaran fauna (550 million years ago), were first described. 

After 3 billion years of simple, microscopic life on Earth, for the first time, evolution led to the emergence of complex organisms that were visible to the naked eye. They were marine animals with enigmatic shapes and, despite their soft bodies, they have been preserved in deposits all over the world.

Flysch Zumaia, Euskal Herria

Perfect geology

The Zumaia flysch is one of the best-known and most widely studied formations in the world. This vast collection of seabed deposits dating back some 60 million years is the perfect illustration of how geologic time is recorded in rocks and divided into different periods. 

Its layers provide an insight into the mysterious life of the deep sea and contain one of the best records of the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period (K-Pg). The flysch is a perfect reflection of time, life and the climate throughout Earth’s history.