Cambrian Period
Age: 495 to 545 million years ago
Geography, environment and climate
England and Wales were a long way south (approximately 800 S), and part of a different continent (Gondwana) to Scotland that lay much further to the north forming part of the North American continent. As a consequence of its polar location, the climate would have been relatively cold. Most of England was occupied by a shelf sea which deepened to the north, while southern England was probably land.
Key events
The Cambrian sees the first appearance of animals with shells, including trilobites, a now extinct group of arthropods, graptolites and squid-like nautiloids and other types of mollusc.
Rock types and occurrence in England
Rocks of this period in England are relatively rare and outcrops are confined to central Shropshire, the Malvern Hills and Warwickshire. These comprise shales and sandstones deposited in relatively shallow water.
