DINOSAUR ISLAND

One of Europe's finest sites for dinosaur remains
120 million years ago, there was no Isle of Wight, it was landlocked, part of a large continent. In the muds and silts of ancient marshy environments, animals and plants were trapped and preserved as fossils. These can now be found in the cliffs and on the beaches around the Island's coast.

Hanover Point, location of Dinosaur finds. The oldest rocks are the wealdon clays formed when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The yellow, brown and grey rocks exposed in the bays of Compton, Brook and Brighstone contain fossilised trees and dinosaur bones! Giant casts of dinosaur footprints in stone are a famous feature at Hanover Point. Dinosaur fanatics will be fascinated by the exhibits on show at the Isle of Wight Museum of Geology in Sandown and the Dinosaur Farm along the Military Road, where you can watch geologists working on the Island's biggest ever dinosaur find, a giant Sauropod!

Later, these ancient marshy environments were covered by deep tropical seas. In these oceans lived millions of minute plankton, shellfish and plants. When they died, their shell cases fell to the seabed and built up over millions of years to form chalk. When you walk on top of St Boniface Down (the Island's highest point), would you believe that you were treading on the floor of an ancient sea over 70 million years old?

All these ancient layers were buried, compacted and then uplifted to be exposed in the rocks. The importance of the Island's strata was recognised in Victorian days when famous scientists, including the evolutionist, Charles Darwin, examined the cliffs to study the fossil remains. Today, geologists continue to examine the rocks to understand the complex processes which formed the present Isle of Wight. To help you enjoy and interpret this scenery, the Isle of Wight Museum of Geology leads field trips for all ages. It provides an up to date interpretation of rocks, fossils and landscape. Fossils found by visitors and specialist collectors can be brought to the museum for identification. Sometimes, a "find" proves very exciting, especially if it is unknown in the fossil record. Such fossils contribute to our knowledge of these ancient environments.