TIMELINE 1 - Pre-human History
This section details the development of the area that has become Weddington – itself a fascinating story! Perhaps most interesting is the fact that the land that was to become Weddington has its origins many miles from its current location – indeed, many miles from Britain!
From earth science evidence it is clear that the earth consists of several giant rafts of crustal rock. These rafts are moving relative to each other in a very purposeful way (called Continental Drift). Their average speed is about 1-2" per year. The processes that cause this movement are called Plate Tectonics. Below is a review of just how far Weddington has moved in time and what the district looked like in those times.
The Table below has a latitude column giving an idea where geologists believe Weddington was. Obviously when Weddington was near NEW GUINEA 500 million years ago, New Guinea was elsewhere.
DATE |
ENVIRONMENT |
LATITUDE |
|
|
|
500,000,000 BC |
Shallow sea |
40° South (near New Zealand) |
380,000,000 BC |
Low lying land |
20° South (near Peru) |
340,000,000 BC |
Low land/estuary |
4° South (near Peru) |
250,000,000 BC |
Rocky desert |
17° North (near Antigua) |
220,000,000 BC |
Alluvial plains |
20° North (near Mid-Atlantic) |
170,000,000 BC |
Low lying land |
29° North (near Mid-Atlantic) |
100,000,000 BC |
Shallow sea |
39° North (near Portugal) |
50,000,000 BC |
Land |
47° North (near Portugal) |
GEOLOGICAL TIME PERIOD |
SOIL TYPE |
DEPTH TO BASE (metres) |
|
|
|
PRECAMBRIAN (550,000,000 BC+) |
Caldecote Volcanic Formation |
at least 700 |
TRIASSIC (220,000,000 BC) |
Polesworth Formation (sandstones) |
365 |
|
Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation |
190 |
|
Mercia Mudstone Group |
100 |
RECENT |
River terrace – sandy gravel |
1 to 3 |
475,000 to 425,000 BC |
Lake Harrison exists in the area |
10,000 BC |
Last glacier melts - River Anker joins Tame and Trent systems. |