It's an interesting article, but there's one thing I didn't understand. If memory serves, the other end of the English Channel is open to the Atlantic Ocean.
What kept the water out at that end? From: "Bob W" > Bob W wrote: > > > >> > > My house is at the apex (?) of the large oxbow in the centre of >> > the > >>> > > picture. >>> >> > >> > Dude, without even looking at the photo, you're toast. Oxbows might >> > even be worse than alluvial plains (I think that's the term) for >> > flooding. If you're going to live next to a river, make it a >> > young one >> > rather than an old one. Though I'd be surprised if there >> > were very many >> > young rivers in Jolly Old Blighty. :-) >> > >> > When /was/ the last mountain building phase that affected the >> > British Isles? >> > >> > > Long time ago and a long way from here! The biggest mountains were > (and still are) in Scotland. They were bigger than the Himalayas, > apparently, but have got a bit worn down now. Too many Munro Baggers > trampling all over them, I expect. Northern Scitland was part of the > North American landmass, but floated off and eventually bumped into > the top of Europe, raising the mountains. Most of the rest of the > lumpy bits are glacial, or downland, I think. Geology is not one of my > subjects, so I could be completely wrong. > > The Thames itself used to flow out much further north than it does > today, onto the plain (Doggerland) that is now the North Sea, where it > joined the Rhine and became part of a huge river system that flowed > down the Channel valley. When the glaciers melted and sea levels rose > the river moved south to its present route and the North Sea filled > up. Eventually the North Sea breached or overtopped the 'plug' near > Dover that kept the sea out of the Channel, causing a megaflood and > turning Britain into an island. > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6904675.stm > > So even if my house floods, things can always get worse. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
