In Africa, found traces of ancient glaciers

Can you believe that once upon a time, in the lands of Africa were passing huge glaciers? If you consider that throughout the long history of the continents changed their location, this may be. Geologists already have strong evidence — on the territory of the desert country of Namibia, found the hills a special form that typically arise in places where fast-moving glaciers. The discovery provides a new look at the history of the Earth.

Друмлин в Африке

The hills, called drumlins, were seen Graham Andrews and Sarah brown, geologists from West Virginia University. These hills have a very unusual shape, where the land rises quite abruptly from one side and tapers down to the other end. These “tails” pointing in one direction and make it clear in which direction the glaciers were moving.

Друмлин в Африке

Typically, these hills meet in a rather cold countries like Canada, Germany, Finland and Greenland. Their discovery was a great surprise and discovery for scientists, however, about the presence of glaciers it was possible to guess earlier. The fact that about 300 million years ago the land that is now called Namibia, was somewhere over the South pole. At that time, according to geologists, this area was maintained in an ice flow.

People obviously knew this part of the world was once covered with ice, but no one ever mentioned about how was formed the unusual hills — Graham said Andrews.

Using Google Earth and Google Maps geologists estimate that the length of the ice layers ranged from 0.1 to 1.5 km. they Also found in the hills large depressions indicating that floating above them the ice was moving pretty fast and covered a distance of about 800 meters per year. Geologists believe that this is a very important discovery, because previously such historical facts about Namibia still has not been published.

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