Bobbitshole, Belstead facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 |
|
| Area of Search | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 1.7 hectares |
| Notification | 1987 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Bobbitshole is a special place in Belstead, near Ipswich in Suffolk. It covers about 1.7 hectares, which is like two football fields. This site is important because of its unique geology. It is known as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Geological Conservation Review site.
Contents
What is Bobbitshole?
Bobbitshole is a very important location for scientists. It helps us understand Earth's past climate. This site is famous for its ancient soil and rock layers. These layers tell a story about how warm and cold periods changed over time.
A Window into the Past
Scientists call Bobbitshole a "type locality." This means it's the main place where a specific time period was first studied. For Bobbitshole, this period is called the Ipswichian interglacial.
The Ipswichian Interglacial Period
The Ipswichian interglacial was a warm period. It happened about 130,000 to 115,000 years ago. This was a time when the Earth warmed up between two ice ages. During this warm spell, plants and animals that liked warmer weather thrived.
Tracing Earth's Climate Changes
Bobbitshole has special layers of earth. These layers show a continuous record of deposits. They start from the end of the cold Wolstonian stage. This was a very cold period before the Ipswichian. The layers then continue through the entire Ipswichian warm period.
Scientists can study these layers like pages in a history book. They learn how the climate changed from very cold to warm. This helps them understand how our planet's climate works.
Why is it so Important?
Natural England, a group that protects nature, calls Bobbitshole a "nationally important Pleistocene reference site." The Pleistocene is a geological epoch that lasted from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. It included many ice ages.
Bobbitshole is like a key to understanding this ancient time. It helps scientists learn about past environments. This knowledge can even help us understand future climate changes.
Visiting Bobbitshole
It's important to know that Bobbitshole is on private land. This means people cannot visit it. Also, the site has been filled in over time. So, the special geological layers are no longer visible on the surface. Even though you can't visit, its scientific value remains very high.
