White cliffs of Dover. Nature miracle

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White cliffs of Dover. Nature miracle

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When the famous d'Artagnan sailed to England to get the queen's pendants, the first thing he saw, approaching the English coast, was a snow-white stripe on the horizon. It was not snow or coastal sand. Before his eyes, the majestic chalk cliffs of Dover gradually rose above the horizon. This fortress and the nearby port city were called the "key to England" for a reason. From the French coast to the British here in a straight line the minimum distance is only 37 kilometers.

White Cliffs of Dover

Dover Castle rises over XNUMX meters above sea level. Under it lie powerful chalk strata of limestones. Although they stretch left and right along the coast for many tens of kilometers, the cliffs of Dover are the most famous among them. It was they who were seen by hundreds of thousands of sailors approaching the English coast, native to some and hostile to others.

It is curious that these, in the truest sense of the word, outstanding rocks consist of almost the same rock as ordinary school chalk. This rock began to form about 145 million years ago. It was then that the last period of the Mesozoic era began, which was accurately and figuratively called the Cretaceous. It ended about 80 million years ago. At that time, many single-celled organisms lived in the seas and oceans of our planet, the bodies of which are surrounded on all sides by an openwork shell. It was pierced by many holes, through which thin outgrowths stretched in all directions, catching prey from the water. Scientists call such creatures foraminifers - that is, "carrying holes" (from the Greek foramen - "hole" and phero - "carry").

Typically, foraminifera shells consist of many sections, just as a spacious apartment consists of several rooms of different sizes. As the cell grows, the number of chamber sections increases. In this way, large shells can appear, which are already clearly visible to the naked eye. The shells of the largest of the extinct foraminifera reached a diameter of 12 and even 16 centimeters! For millions of years, after their death, they sank to the seabed, where they gradually compressed, forming a sedimentary rock - limestone. In some places the bottom of the sea gradually rose. People began to use the exposed limestone for buildings.

In Egypt, limestone quarries are located near the Pyramid of Cheops - the largest pyramid in the world, reaching a height of almost 150 meters. It was from there that the ancient Egyptians cut down more than two million stone blocks during its construction. Many buildings of Paris and Rome, as well as some temples of Ancient Rus', were built from limestone. For example, the temples of Vladimir are built of limestone slabs formed by foraminiferal shells, shaped like lentil grains. Such a building material in Rus' was called "bread" or "lentil" stone.

The world's greatest mountain - Everest - also consists of many fossilized foraminifera shells! The mountains of Europe - the Pyrenees and the Alps, as well as some mountain ranges of North Africa, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Himalayas are composed of foraminiferal limestones. The chalk cliffs of Dover are also composed of them.

There is also a lot of lime in the soil lying on top of the rocks. Therefore, special plants live here that tolerate a high concentration of these salts. Botanists call them calcephiles - that is, "loving lime." The most famous calcisphil found at the cliffs of Dover is the yellow dome. Otherwise, it is called glaucium.

From these white rocks, the British Isles began to be called Albion (Latin albus - "white"). So they were called by the ancient Greeks, then the Romans. A couple of centuries ago, the epithet "foggy" was added, which can be taken as an allusion to the humid climate and the non-transparent policy of the authorities. For example, Marina Tsvetaeva wrote in one of her poems:

I left the shore of foggy Albion ...
Divine height! Divine sadness!
I see dim waters agitated bosom
And the dim firmament, familiar by heart.

The height here is a clear indication of both the high white cliffs of Dover and the height of British culture. Do you want to see them yourself? Come to England by sea. Or, in extreme cases, use the Eurotunnel. Its exit on the British side is not far from the center of Dover.

Author: Afonkin S.Yu.

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