The destination was Højerup, which is on Stevn's Klint. Stevn is the name of the area, Klimt means 'cliff'. Stevn's Klint is a cliff, consisting of chalk at the bottom and limestone at the top. The bottom chalk layer dates from Cretaceous times, up to 65 million years ago. The limestone on top is from the Paleogene era. In between is a thin, dark layer, which is called the 'Fish Clay'. The Fish Clay is believed to be deposited when a huge meteorite hit the earth 65 million years ago. It caused a large ash cloud, which obscured the sun and caused extinction of many species (including the dinosaurs), as the absence of sunlight caused the plants (food for the species) to die. The fish clay is very rich in Iridium, which is also a known component of meteorites. Stevn's Klint is the first place where the 'fish clay' layer was seen and it is the strongest support for the meteorite impact actually causing the Cretaceous - Paleogene mass extinction. The difference between the layer below the fish clay (soft chalk) and above the layer (hard limestone) is explained by the difference on animal life before and after the impact.
As the soft chalk continuously erodes away because of the sea, every now and then the limestone above breaks off and falls into the sea. This happens for instance on 16 March 1928. At that occasion, the choir of the church at Højerup (built around 1250) was undermined and fell into the sea. The rest of the church stayed behind (at the time it was already not in use anymore). Where the choir was, there now is a balcony which has a great view!
The church as seen from below.
The view from the balcony.
All in all, we have had to freshen up on a lot of geology, the last few days. Very interesting!
No comments:
Post a Comment