Lizard Point, Cornwall to discover more about the local rocks. The first sighting of the Spanish Armada on mainland Britain was off Lizard Point at 3 pm on 29 July 1588. This was one of the greatest invasion fleets in history and consisted of 120 ships armed with over 1,000 cannon and with 29,000 men on board. The Battle at the Lizard, a naval battle, took place off The Lizard on 21 October 1707. The bulk coaster carrier MV "Ardgarry" (1957) was lost in a heavy storm, in over 30 ft (9m) high waves, off Lizard Point on 29 December 1962. All 12
Geology of Cornwall Geology of Cornwall The geology of Cornwall, England, is dominated by its granite backbone, part of the Cornubian batholith, formed during the Variscan orogeny. Around this is an extensive metamorphic aureole (known locally as killas) formed in the mainly Devonian slates that make up most of the rest of the county. There is an area of sandstone and shale of Carboniferous age in the north east, and the Lizard peninsula is formed of a rare section of uplifted oceanic crust. Cornwall forms the tip of the south-west peninsula of the island Great Britain, and is therefore exposed to the full