Chat Moss

E34417

Chat Moss is a large peat bog in Greater Manchester, England, historically significant for its challenging terrain that had to be engineered across during the construction of early railway lines.

Aliases (3)

Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf peat bog
wetland
adjacentTo M62 motorway
administrativeRegion Salford district
area about 10.6 square miles
about 27.5 square kilometres
associatedWith George Stephenson
biodiversity supports wetland flora and fauna
climateRegulationRole potential carbon sink if restored
conservationStatus subject to local conservation efforts
contains agricultural fields
drainage ditches
remnant semi-natural bog habitat
country United Kingdom
crossedBy Liverpool and Manchester Railway
drainedSince 19th century
ecosystemType lowland raised bog
elevation low-lying
engineeringChallenge unstable peat up to several metres deep
environmentalIssue carbon loss from drained peat
peat degradation
geologicalComposition deep peat over glacial deposits
historicalEvent construction of Liverpool and Manchester Railway across the bog in the 1820s
hydrology artificially drained
landscapeType flat open mossland
landUseChange conversion of bog to farmland
locatedIn England
Greater Manchester
North West England
nameEtymology "Moss" meaning bog or peatland in local dialect
near Cadishead
Glazebrook
Irlam
Manchester
Worsley
notableFor difficult ground conditions for early railways
partOf City of Salford
Metropolitan Borough of Salford
historic county of Lancashire
railwayEngineering innovative floating embankment over peat
railwayLineOpened Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830
terrain peat
waterlogged
timePeriodOfMajorRailwayWorks 1820s
transportHistory key site in early railway engineering
usedFor agriculture
peat extraction


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