Histon Road SSSI facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 |
|
| Area of Search | Cambridgeshire |
|---|---|
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 0.6 hectares |
| Notification | 1984 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Histon Road is a special place in Cambridge, England. It is called a "Site of Special Scientific Interest" (SSSI). This means it is protected because it helps scientists learn about Earth's past. It covers a small area, about 0.6 hectares, which is like one and a half football fields.
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Why is Histon Road Important?
Histon Road is a "Geological Conservation Review" site. This means it is one of the best places in the United Kingdom to study rocks and landforms. It helps us understand how our planet has changed over time.
Looking Back in Time: The Ice Age
Scientists from Natural England say Histon Road is a "key Pleistocene stratigraphic site." This means it is a very important spot for studying the Pleistocene Epoch. This was a long time ago, from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. It was a time when much of the Earth was covered in ice.
"Stratigraphic" means studying layers of rock and soil. These layers are like pages in a history book. They tell us about Earth's past environments and climates.
What We Found There
Histon Road is special because it shows us what Earth was like around 120,000 years ago. This was during a warm period called the Eemian interglacial. An "interglacial" is a warmer time between two ice ages.
Scientists found many things in the soil layers at Histon Road. They discovered deposits of molluscs (like snails and clams) and pollen. These tiny clues help them understand what plants and animals lived there long ago. They also show what the climate was like during that warm period.
Visiting Histon Road
Today, the Histon Road site has been filled in. It is now used for allotments, which are small plots of land people rent to grow food. Because it is private land, there is no public access to the site.
