Fortunately, evidence of these geological processes has been well-preserved in the region’s rocks. This provides visitors with ample opportunity to explore Iveragh’s rich geological history, which includes stories of:

• Ancient trees, fish, invertebrates and a huge leap for life on earth, as four-legged vertebrates began to transition from water onto land over 385 million years ago.

• Volcanic activity where magma rose from deep within the Earth’s mantle to form igneous rocks such as dolerite, tuff deposits or volcanic breccia.

• The great mountain building event which made Iveragh the most mountainous region in Ireland, pushing up the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, Dunkerron Mountains and many other peaks.

• Enormous glaciers carving through the landscape to leave behind a distinctly ice-sculpted terrain, including features such as ‘U-shaped valleys’, corries, lakes and much more.

• Great sea level rise brought about by a warming climate that melted much of the vast ice sheets that once covered Iveragh, Ireland and much of the northern hemisphere.

• The destructive power of the Atlantic Ocean that creates impressive sea arches, sea stacks and sea caves, or the ocean’s constructive power that continues to build our beaches and sand dunes.

These geology resources will take you on a journey through time, to explore Iveragh’s past environments and the processes that have helped shape the peninsula we know today.