Canals: The Making of a Nation

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Canals: The Making of a Nation - Geology

Liz McIvor

Andy Richards

Tony Parker

Canals: The Making of a Nation: Geology

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Geology

28/08/2015

BBC One - Canals: The Making of a Nation, Geology

How the process of building Britain's canals resulted in furthering geological knowledge.

How the process of building Britain's canals resulted in furthering geological knowledge, as surveyor William Smith created the first geological map of England and Wales.

Liz McIvor discovers how carving up the landscape in order to build canals helped further our understanding of the earth below. The canal builders struggled with rocks. Without maps or geological surveys, construction often relied on guesswork. The Kennet and Avon had more than its fair share of problems. William Smith, a surveyor working on the connecting Somerset Coal Canal, discovered a way of ordering layers of rocks. He eventually created the first geological map of England and Wales - the so-called 'map that changed the world'.

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Liz McIvor looks at who built, worked on and regenerated the nation's canal network.

Liz McIvor looks at who built the nation's canal network, who funded it, those who worked on it and how they were regenerated following WWII.

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