The Silurian Earth
The Earth's surface looked very different during the Silurian period.
Britain as it is today did not exist. Scotland was part of another continent called Laurentia.
An area of land that is now Wales and England was part of a much larger landmass located approximately 25° south of the equator. The landmass was formed by the collision of the microcontinent of Avalonia with the continent of Baltica, during the Ordovician period.
The image shows a map of the world as it was around 430 million years ago. The area of the Wenlock Reef is bounded to the northwest by the Iapetus Ocean.
Most of the land was covered by a warm, shallow sea - perfect conditions for coral reefs to form.