Sponsored by
Underwater world revealed
SCARBOROUGH'S Dinosaur Coast is highlighted in a new map published by an environmental campaign group.
It also features modern-day flora and fauna which inhabit the waters off the Yorkshire and North East Coast.
Prehistoric features which are highlighted near Scarborough include dinosaur footprints and submerged mammoth tusks as well as the colossal sand dunes of Dogger Bank – at a height of 60 metres they are taller than Nelson’s Column – as well as submerged Roman villages.
Will Watts, Scarborough Museums Trust’s head of learning partnerships, said the map was a good idea because it was a good mix of different things – from the prehistoric times right up to the modern day.
He said: “It shows quite simply and graphically how the coast has changed, from the dinosaurs through the Romans to the modern day. It’ll get people interested and we will have to get a copy for the Rotunda Museum.”
According to research by campaign group Natural England, most people are completely unaware many of the features are there and did not know the creatures which live in the North Sea.
Peter Nottage, the organisation’s regional director, said: “Our undersea environment has dramatic landscapes with valleys, hills, plains and cliffs and is a source of intrigue and fascination. There are all these great places under the waves.”
Creatures and plants living along Scarborough’s coastline, and featuring on the map, include venus clams, kelp, minke whales, harbour porpoises, dolphin, cod, bottle brush hydroid and sand eels.
Todd German, a senior aquarist at Scarborough’s Sea Life Centre, said the map was a good idea because it would make people aware of the wildlife around them.
He said: “We are so aware of what’s on the land but it’s only a few privileged people that get to go down and see what’s underneath the sea. It is the scale and variety of species that is so impressive.”
He added that the map fitted in with the Sea Life Centre’s own aim of increasing awareness of the natural world. He said: “Part of our message is to try to get across to the kids to be aware of what’s around here.”
Mr German added there were lots of areas locally where people could get an opportunity to see sea life including Bempton Cliffs which is home to a large seabird colony.
Natural England is also helping to produce a network of Marine Protected Areas around the UK coastline by 2012 and is working with other organisations to identify possible sites and designate them in territorial waters.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Scarborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
