Dartmoor

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Dartmoor

National Park - A lake for Every Season

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artmoor is an area of moorland in southern Devon, England. Protected by National Park status as Dartmoor National Park, it covers 954 square kilometres (368 sq mi). The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous Period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The highest point is High Willhays, 621 m (2,037 ft) above sea level. The entire area is rich in antiquities and archaeology. Dartmoor is managed by the Dartmoor National Park Authority, whose 22 members are drawn from Devon County Council, local district councils and Government. Parts of Dartmoor have been used as military firing ranges for over 200 years. The public are granted extensive land access rights on Dartmoor (including restricted access to the firing ranges) and it is a popular tourist destination. The majority of the prehistoric remains on Dartmoor date back to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Indeed, Dartmoor contains the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the United Kingdom, which suggests that this was when a larger population moved onto the hills of Dartmoor. The large systems of Bronze Age fields, divided by reaves, cover an area of over 10,000 hectares (39 sq mi) of the lower moors. The climate at the time was warmer than today, and much of today’s moorland was covered with trees. The prehistoric settlers began clearing the forest, and established the first farming

communities. Fire was the main method of clearing land, creating pasture and swidden types of fire-fallow farmland. Areas less suited for farming tended to be burned for livestock grazing. Over the centuries these Neolithic practices greatly expanded the upland moors, and contributed to the acidification of the soil and the accumulation of peat and bogs. After a few thousand years the mild climate deteriorated leaving these areas uninhabited and consequently relatively undisturbed to the present day. The highly acidic soil has ensured that no organic remains have survived, but the durability of the granite has meant that the remains of buildings, enclosures and monuments have survived well, as have flint tools. It should be noted that a number of remains were “restored” by enthusiastic Victorians and that, in some cases, they have placed their own interpretation on how an area may have looked. Ut verae et vid ulparia nimagnat ute et optaturibust qui dolorer cillestibus pratemo milita etur reperum con eicient poreiur? Il imus in cum laces et, a veni quas ut et et idel ipsae dolut et fugiantio eos sime pelestibus de est arum quam, quossedis inctention corest haribus, aut animagnam quatiur? Facimus explis untur? Haria ium fugia sum eum latus dolorruptasi inveles res nonseque minverro magnim sed quam venis aut ut laborep ernati andam, et eum sinihil magnim volorrovidus et, audiasped maxim sundigenime nonsedia sint molorum rentiis sa vit re nonecta erionseri atibere asperuptatus nam aut fugia im volestium aliqui omnis dit que pos nim dit mil ist aut eum ut

Dartmoor National Park Page 1

Dartmoor lake in the Summer

Dartmoor Lake in the spring

Summer Dartmoor lake in the

Spring Dartmoor Lake in the

Dartmoor National Park Page 2

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