Millook facts for kids

Even when mountains are worn down, the evidence is there in the remaining rocks. Millook, Cornwall

Millook is a special place on the north coast of Cornwall, England. It's famous for its amazing cliffs. These cliffs are so unique that a group of rock scientists, the Geological Society, voted them one of Britain's top 10 most important rock sites! They were even chosen as the best in the "folding and faulting" group.

What Makes Millook Cliffs Special?

The cliffs at Millook show a series of zig-zag patterns. These are called "chevron folds." Imagine pushing a stack of blankets from the sides. They would fold up in waves or zig-zags. That's similar to what happened to these rocks!

How the Rocks Were Formed

The rocks you see today were once sedimentary rocks. This means they were made from layers of sand and mud. These layers settled at the bottom of a deep ocean. This happened a very long time ago, during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods. We know this because they contain brachiopod fossils. Brachiopods are ancient sea creatures. The type found here lived in the late Devonian period.

The Power of Mountain Building

Later, something huge happened. Hot, melted rock called granite pushed its way up from deep inside the Earth. This happened during a time when huge mountains were being formed. This mountain-building event is known as the Variscan orogeny. It affected areas like Devon and Cornwall in England.

Rocks Under Pressure

When the hot granite touched the existing sandstones, it changed them. This created new kinds of rocks called metamorphic rocks. These rocks are changed by heat and pressure. The mountain-building also put incredible pressure on the original layers of sand and mud. This pressure caused them to bend and break. This bending is called "folding," and the breaking is called "faulting."

A Giant Collision

What we see at Millook is just a small piece of a much larger story. It's part of a huge mountain system. This system formed when two giant landmasses crashed into each other. These landmasses were ancient continents called Euramerica (also known as Laurussia) and Gondwana. Their collision created an even bigger supercontinent called Pangaea. So, the zig-zag cliffs at Millook are a visible sign of this ancient, powerful continental crash!

Images for kids

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  Millook Haven

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  Millook