05 May Irish Bogs
On any tour of Ireland…… with Ireland Luxury Tours….or not……you will come across a lot of bogland as you travel around the island.
Seventeen percent of the land surface of Ireland is covered in bog. The word bog stems from the Irish word for “soft” – bogacb. Boglands began to form in Ireland about eight thousand years ago. The peat, or turf, is composed of 95 percent water and 5 percent rotted plants, animal remains, pollen, and dust. Because of the large amount of rain that falls in parts of Ireland, much of the land is waterlogged and the micro-organisms that cause decay are unable to survive. Dead plants and animals gradually accumulate to form turf. “Blanket bog” is found in many of the counties on the western seaboard, while “raised bogs” (which are slightly higher than the rest of the countryside) are to be found in the midlands. Turf is still commonly used as a source of fuel. It has been harvested by the state company Bord na Mona since the 1930s and served as an invaluable source of alternative energy during World War II
For goodness sake DONT FALL IN !!!