5.12km x 5.12km Terrain
5m Ground Resolution
This synthetic terrain represents a small area of the Yorkshire Dales.
The Dales are limestone country. At one time in the prehistoric past, the whole area was a shallow tropical sea, with many coral reefs and atolls. Eventually, the sea became land, and the sand and coral became various sandstone and limestone rocks.
Since that time there have also been glaciation episodes, forestation, deforestation, resulting in the quite Scottish-looking moorland with small woods in sheltered areas, characteristic of this impressively scenic part of England.
Heightmap 2D
Heightmap 3D
(As you can see from the 2D heightmap in particular, this was one of my earlier attempts at synthetic terrains ... it says "PERLIN" right across the landscape when viewed at this large scale... nevertheless, it works well "on the ground"...)
Geologically, one of the most notable features of the area are Reef Knolls... some small, some miles across, reef knolls are oddly shaped regular rounded hills, sometimes almost conical, other times elongated if they were big enough to attract the attention of passing glaciers. These are the remnants of the original reefs and atolls of that prehistoric sea... Rich in marine fossils, the exposed rock faces of some of these hills are a magnet to paleontologists in the summer.
Once again, in this simulated terrain, I've attempted to depict these notable geological features, within a gently rolling moorland typical of the area.
