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Bodmin Moor (Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a slightly lower peak. Many of Cornwall's rivers have their sources here. It has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic era, when primitive farmers started clearing trees and farming the land. They left their megalithic monuments, hut circles and cairns, and the Bronze Age culture that followed left further cairns, and more stone circles and stone rows. By medieval and modern times, nearly all the forest was gone and livestock rearing predominated. The name Bodmin Moor is relatively recent. An early mention is in the Royal Cornwall Gazette of 28 November 1812. The upland area was formerly known as Fowey Moor after the River Fowey, which rises within it. Bodmin Moor is one of five granite plutons in Cornwall that make up part of the Cornubian batholith. The intrusion dates from the Cisuralian epoch, the earliest part of the Permian period, and outcrops across about 190 square km. Around the pluton's margins where it intruded into slates, the country rock has been hornfelsed. Numerous peat deposits occur across the moor whilst large areas are characterised by blockfields of granite boulders; both deposits are of Holocene age (see also Geology of Cornwall). Dramatic granite tors rise from the rolling moorland: the best known are Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall at , and Rough Tor at . To the south-east Kilmar Tor and Caradon Hill are the most prominent hills. Considerable areas of the moor are poorly drained and form marshes (in hot summers these can dry out). The rest of the moor is mostly rough pasture or covered with heather and other low vegetation. The moor contains about 500 holdings with around 10,000 beef cows, 55,000 breeding ewes and 1,000 horses and ponies. Most of the moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Bodmin Moor, North, and has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), as part of Cornwall AONB.

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Related concepts (4)

Bodmin Moor

Cornwall

Cornwall (ˈkɔːrnwɔːl,_-wəl; Kernow ˈkɛrnɔʊ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations and is the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the east by Devon, and to the south by the English Channel. Its administrative centre is the city of Truro. The county is rural, with an area of and population of 568,210. The largest settlements are Falmouth (23,061), Newquay (20,342), St Austell (19,958), and Truro (18,766).

Cornubian batholith

The Cornubian batholith is a large mass of granite rock, formed about 280 million years ago, which lies beneath much of Cornwall and Devon in the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. The main exposed masses of granite are seen at Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor, St Austell, Carnmenellis, Land's End and the Isles of Scilly. The intrusion is associated with significant quantities of minerals particularly cassiterite, an ore of tin which has been mined since about 2000 BC. Other minerals include china clay and ores of copper, lead, zinc and tungsten.