National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Photo: Ancient Megaflood Made Britain an Island, Study Says


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Sometime between 450,000 and 200,000 years ago, waters from a glacial lake burst through a natural chalk dam, flooding the area that is now the English Channel and cutting off the land that is now Britain from mainland Europe, a new study says.

Sonar mapping of the seabed revealed scours and streamlined "islands" that could only have been created by gushing floodwaters, scientists report.

Graphic by Miranda Mulligan/NGS