May 1st, 2009 | Devon

Devon gave its name to a geological era: the Devonian era, so named by Adam Sedgwick because the distinctive Old Red Sandstone of Exmoor was studied by geologists here. The whole of central Devon is occupied by the largest area of igneous rock in south-west England, Dartmoor. Devon’s third major rock system[citation needed] is the Culm Measures, a geological formation of the Carboniferous period that occurs principally in Devon and Cornwall. They are so called because of the occasional presence of a soft, sooty coal, which is known in Devon as culm.[citation needed] This formation stretches from Bideford to Bude in Cornwall, and contributes to a gentler, greener, more rounded landscape.

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