John S Mason

Author John S Mason is a geologist by training but has held a lifelong fascination with the natural world, especially here in Wales where he has lived for many years. Out of that interest there came a passion for writing about his surroundings, both now and through deep time, for although the rocks hold many secrets, modern science is unlocking that vault, piece by piece.

Wales - The Missing Years is the second book in a series that began with The Making of Ynyslas (2019). The oldest rocks we know of in Wales are about 700 million years old. But Planet Earth is over 4,500 million years old. So what happened in those missing years?

The answer is that almost everything you take for granted in your daily lives came into being, bit by bit and often by sheer good fortune. Stuff like breathable air, drinkable water, a mostly liveable climate, plate tectonics and the vast range of habitats that is responsible for creating and, indeed, life itself. Based on the latest peer-reviewed science, this was John Mason's Lockdown Project.

Wales may have been late on the scene in geological terms, but every atom and molecule making up the country, its rocks, seas, skies and diverse inhabitants owes its origin to the Missing Years. This, then, is a story that belongs to every one of you.

Wales - The Missing Years £9.99

The Making of Ynyslas brings to life the remarkable tale of the origin of this popular destination on the Cardigan Bay coast of Wales. Journey through deep time, from 25,000 years ago when Wales had an ice cap, through the dramatic changes in Earth’s climate that resulted in the familiar landscape of today. Learn the fascinating history of the drowning of a vast plain that once stretched from today’s coastline out towards Ireland, its only visible remnant now being the famous Submerged Forest.

Drawing upon the extensive scientific literature on Cardigan Bay, this book is a vivid narrative of that dramatic transition — what happened, when it happened and why — and how such changes may have been reflected in Welsh folklore, with the legend of the Kingdom of Cantre’r Gwaelod and its terrible fate.

The Making of Ynyslas £7.50

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An article by the author: click here