Cat’s Back Voyage in Deeptime

Walk through a dramatic glacial landscape carved into 400 million year old Devonian rocks deposited by rivers crossing arid plains.

Includes reconstructions of the Black Mts. 20,000 years ago in the last glacial event.

Understand how the rocks of the Black Mts. and Brecon Beacons were built layer upon layer by rivers flowing south into a vanished ocean, from mountains to the north-west with a size to rival the Himalayas of today.

The map shows the route and Task Site locations for the Cat’s Back Voyage in the area of the Cat’s Back in the Black Mountains. The colour overlay on the map depicts the outcrop of the 3 Devonian age stratigraphic units of the area – Freshwater West Formation (pale pink), Ffynnon Limestone (bright green) and the Senni Beds (ochre colour). In the app the pale green rectangle provides access to the reconstructions of the area during the last glacial.

Links to Task Sites for the Cat’s Back Voyage

1 Black Hill car park
2 Rocks Beneath
3 Ffynnon Limestone
4 Senni Formation
5 Landslips
6 Quaternary Ice Age

Devonian Earth – arrangement of continents and oceans around the time the rocks of the Cat’s Back formed.

The following links are to environmental reconstructions, life forms, atmospheric composition, day length, top predators, climate and other facts relating to the  times when the various rock units of the Cat’s Back were forming. Starting with the youngest rocks,

The first links are to information on the area during the last ice Age – a mere 20,000 years ago.

Quaternary – height of Devensian Glacial
Around 20,000 years ago
North View | East View | South View | West view | Lifeforms

Senni Formation
Around 410 million years old
North view | View from above | South View | Lifeforms | Other information

Fynnon Limestone
Around 410 million years old
North View | View from above | South View | Lifeforms | Other information

Freshwater West Formation
Around 410 million years old
North view | View from above | South view | Lifeforms | Other information