The Triassic World (250-200 million years ago)

In Triassic times, the World Heritage Site was part of a super-continent called Pangaea.  This landmass divided to form the continents of the modern world.  Dorset and East Devon lay within the arid centre of the super-continent and hot, desert conditions prevailed.  A huge mountain chain lay to the west.  The mountains were gradually eroded and their roots remain in Dartmoor and Brittany.  Rivers flowed north and east, depositing pebbles and sand across southern England.  The rivers spilled into the desert, creating vast lakes that were subject to evaporation.

Triassic Life

The Triassic is a critical period of evolution.  Life on Earth had been decimated by a large mass extinction event at the end of the previous period.  Surviving groups of animals evolved and diversified.  The first dinosaurs evolved and went on to dominate life during the Mesozoic Era.  Most of our living groups of four legged animals had arrived by the end of the Triassic, including frogs, turtles and crocodiles.  The first true mammals also evolved during the Triassic.