Tor 31373 222189410 2008-06-28T00:16:06Z Discospinster 82432 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/68.81.110.253|68.81.110.253]] to last version by Bobo192 (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{Two other uses|a geological formation|the anonymizing overlay computer network|Tor (anonymity network)||}} [[Image:Hawk's Tor.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hawk's Tor, on [[Bodmin Moor]]]] A '''tor''' is a [[rock (geology)|rock]] outcrop formed by [[weathering]], usually found on or near the summit of a [[hill]]. In the [[South West England|South West of England]], where the term originated, it is also a word used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of [[Dartmoor]] in [[Devon]] and [[Bodmin Moor]] in [[Cornwall]]. The word 'tor' is also used in southern [[Wales]], particularly on the rocky coastlines such as the [[Vale of Glamorgan]] and the [[Gower peninsula]]; on the Gower one of the sandy beaches near [[Oxwich Bay]] is called "Tor Bay" because the beach is framed by a huge outcrop of [[carboniferous limestone]]. The term is notable for being, along with ''[[crag]]'', one among a mere handful of [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] loan-words ([[Cornish language|Cornish]] ''tor'', [[Old Welsh]] ''twrr'', [[Scottish Gaelic|Scots Gaelic]] ''tòrr''), primarily of a geographic or topographical nature, to be borrowed into vernacular English prior to the modern era. This origin of the word and the very fact it has survived hints at the places' special meaning to the gaelic peoples, often being centres of ritual and beliefs in the mystic and spiritual – a belief which in some cases carries on to today. ==Formation== Millions of years ago magma created deep-seated dome [[batholith]]s which over time were revealed to the atmosphere and allowed for weathering to break down their compositions forming tors. Tors are composed usually of [[granite]] or [[metamorphic rock]]s. Tors can also be found around any previously erupted volcanoes (although [[Devonian]] and [[Carboniferous]] outcrops are also found), though occasionally of other hard rocks such as [[quartzite]], and are the result of millions of years of [[weathering]]. In prehistoric times, when the land was covered in forest, rain water seeped into the ground and gradually weathered the bedrock through its natural cracks, or joints. Once the land became exposed, the weathering was accelerated, particularly during the [[Ice age]] when freezing water expanded in the cracks. The result can be seen today in dramatic rock formations. Weathering has also given rise to circular "rock basins'" formed by the accumulation of water and the repeated freezing and thawing – a fine example is to be found at [[Kes Tor]]. As the weathering of the tors continues, the rock is broken down into ever smaller sizes. Many hillsides are covered with loose rocks, known as clitter, which have provided ready building materials for thousands of years. Eventually the granite is weathered down to a level equivalent to sandy [[gravel]], known as growan, which consists of individual crystals. The most distinctive granite landform in temperature countries is the tor and in tropical regions, the inselbergs. Both suggest the removal of material by solifluction and hence lead to the opinion that tors and inselbergs are relict features. ==Tors on Dartmoor== Dartmoor represents one of the largest areas of exposed granite in the [[United Kingdom]], covering an area of 241 square miles (625 square kilometres).<ref>Source: Dartmoor National Park{{Fact|date=February 2007}}</ref> It is part of a chain of granite stretching through Cornwall, as far as the [[Isles of Scilly]]. Some of the more durable granite survived to form the rocky crowns of Dartmoor tors. One of the best known is at [[Haytor]], on the eastern part of the moor, whose granite is of unusually fine quality and was quarried during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its stone was used to construct the pillars outside the [[British Museum]] in [[London]], and to build [[London Bridge]] (now in [[Arizona]]). The last granite to be quarried there was used to build [[Exeter]] War Memorial in 1919. [[Ten Tors]] is an annual weekend hike on Dartmoor. For a full list of Dartmoor's tors see [[List of Dartmoor tors and hills]]. [[Image:Higger Tor 14-04-06.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Higgar Tor in the [[Peak District]].]] ==Other tors== *Black Tor, Derwent Edge (538m) *[[Brent Tor]] *Dovestone Tor, Derwent Edge (505m) *[[Glastonbury Tor]] *Great Tor, Bamford *Howshaw Tor *Ladybower Tor *Low tor *[[Mam Tor]] (517m) *[[Shining Tor]] *[[Over Owler Tor]] (375m) *[[Higger Tor|Higgar Tor]] (384m) *Whinstone Lee Tor *White Tor, Derwent Moors (487m) *The Barns of Bynack, Granite tors on [[Bynack More]] in the [[Cairngorms]] *The Salt Cellar, Gritstone tor on [[Derwent Edge]] in the [[Peak District]] * Tor Heard, Long Whatton * Angel Rocks north of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA ==See also== *[[List of peaks of the Peak District]] *The book [[Red Shift (novel)]] the Mow Cop Tor at the centre of its plot. ==External links== {{commonscat|Tors}} *[http://www.richkni.co.uk/dartmoor/tors.htm Pictures of Dartmoor tors] ==Notes== <references/> {{refimprove|date=November 2006}} [[Category:Dartmoor]] [[Category:Geography of Derbyshire]] [[Category:Geography of Cornwall]] [[Category:Geography of Devon]] [[Category:Geology of England]] [[Category:West Country]] [[es:Tor (geología)]] [[it:Tor (forma geomorfologica)]] [[nl:Tor (landvorm)]]