The Ballyshannon Unconformity

Are you a scientist? A geographer? Geologist? What about botanist? Biologist? Physicist? Archaeologist? Sociologist? Historian? Artist?

None of the above, but cherish the planet?

This appeal is directed to you. To you, and through you to your families, friends, associates, and professional organizations.

Relax. It isn't an appeal for money. There are too many human tragedies that require your financial aid to alleviate them. Too many physical ailments, social problems, all needing cures that cost money.

It is an appeal to use your influence in helping to preserve a geological wonder of the world, "rocks from the basement of time", remnants of primordial matter dating back to the formation of the planet.

Many of you may never have heard of the Ballyshannon Unconformity. "The Ballyshannon what?" Unconformity. Unconformity, because it doesn't conform to the normal nature of things. It is an outcropping of rock older than any other of this type to be found in Ireland and Canada, including the Niagara Gorge and most of the Canadian Shield and Greenland, where carbon dated time is older in some volcanic rock types, but not as well preserved in outcrop as the ancient rocks next to Ballyshannon, for purposes of our earth's historical records. For more on the subject see "Rocks from the basement of time".

Since seeing is believing, the photograph above shows to the layman a small portion of the Ballyshannon Unconformity outcrop, revealing all the twists and contortions to which it has been subjected during its planetary evolution. It is reproduced courtesy of Professor William R. Church, Professor Emeritus of Geotectonics in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Western Ontario, Guelph, Canada. Professor Church's web site, which can be accessed at http://publish.uwo.ca/~wrchurch, provides a wide variety of information on many subjects, and traces the lithographic link between the Ballyshannon Unconformity and the Burlington Peninsula in Newfoundland.

Unfortunately the site near the town of Ballyshannon, in Donegal, is under threat. Should sufficient surface rock be removed from it to provide material for road construction and other uses, it may be lost forever, its fate that of a myriad of undiscovered species lost to forest clearances in the Amazon river basin. Hence this appeal.

There is urgency. There is need to alert authorities, not only in Ireland but worldwide, that action must be taken now to have the Ballyshannon Unconformity designated a World Heritage Site. That is where you can help. That is where your influence can count.

There are more magnificent scenic and culturally rich sites in Ireland, such as the Brú na Bóinne Complex in the Boyne Valley, the Giant's Causeway, and Skellig Michael, that have been granted such status. The right of the Ballyshannon Unconformity to claim equal status has a wider basis, a global basis. It is a slice of the planet 1.6 billion years old. There is a certain synchronicity between the site and the town of Ballyshannon itself, which claims to be one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Action now can preserve it for untold years to come, thus retaining its outstanding universal value for all of mankind.

Is it too much to hope that someone will come forward to coordinate a campaign to save the Ballyshannon Unconformity?

A modest first step may be taken by all those interested through publicizing this preservation appeal, asking various local and national organizations and associations to support it, with a view to having the site recognized by the World Heritage Trust.

Since this e-zine links Ireland and Canada, it may be of interest to note that the Rideau Canal, running from Ottawa to Kingston, is on the list of Canadian sites presently being advanced as meriting designation as a World Heritage Site. The canal, it should be mentioned, was built mainly by Irish labourers, many of whom lost their lives to malaria during its construction. What a glorious celebration it will be if both the Unconformity and the Rideau Canal achieve world designation.

It can all be achieved, starting with a simple e-mail, from you. Get involved. Become an advocate. It can give a new purpose to your life. Your descendants will reap the benefits and be thankful to you.

The e-mail address for the International Council on Monuments and Sites is secretariat@icomos.org

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