Replica Of Thornton Force Waterfall – Bradford, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 48.878 W 001° 46.552
30U E 580596 N 5963593
This waterfall in Lister Park makes use of a naturally occurring stream, but has been built as a replica of a famous waterfall to illustrate a geological theory.
Waymark Code: WMGB50
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/08/2013
Views: 1
Thornton Force Waterfall
The original Thornton Force is in an area that had been covered by ice during the last ice age which caused part of the underlying rock to be eroded away. When looking at the rock structure of the waterfall there are very old rocks at the bottom of the waterfall covered by a much younger layer of rocks. It is estimated that there is a gap of approximately 130 million years between the layers.
The theory of how the rocks were formed was first published in 1802 by John Playfair in his book entitled “Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth”. He
described the section in terms of evidence to prove Hutton's theory that
geological processes of the past were the same as those of today continued
over immense periods of time.
This
website has geological details of the whole area around Thornton Force including the waterfall itself.
Lister Park
Lister Park was originally the grounds of the home of the wealthy and successful mill owner in Bradford, Samuel Lister. He sold the land to Bradford Corporation in 1870 at a very low price. Although the park was well used the council did not look after the original house on the land and it fell into disrepair.
Lister paid for the house to be demolished and an art gallery to replace it. To mark the opening of the gallery an exhibition was held in the park. As part of the building work and preparation for the exhibition a botanical garden was laid out and the Thornton Force replica incorporated into it.
Recent History
In the run up to the millennium the Heritage Lottery Fund gave Bradford a grant of 3.2 million pounds to renovate the park. Part of this renovation work involved tidying up the Botanical Gardens and restoring the waterfall. This work was completed in 2002.