On the rock of Gibraltar, why are there so many shells being revealed on the top of it?

Question

Is the rock exposing other layers to bring the shells to the top?

Answer 1

because the top of it used to be underwater and it is eroding away

likewise valley floor stuff is found at the top of Snowden (North Wales)

Answer 2

The reason why Gibraltar is a lump of limestone, standing proudly above the surrounding land is because of events which took place about 200 million years ago, long before the first person ever walked this Earth. This planet's constantly moving continents looked very different from how they do today in the Age of the Dinosaurs. Limestone, of course, is the remnants of of shells of millions upon millions of crustaceans who lived and died in those ancient seas. Their shells settled on the sea bed, slowly building a thicker and thicker layer over over millions of year. In time these layers of shells solidify into limestone rock.

Answer 3

Because the African plate is colliding with the Eurasian plate. The Rock of Gibraltar was formerly on the floor of the sea that separated Africa and Europe.

Marine animals lived and died on the bottom of the sea, their remains were buried under accumulating sediment, fossilized and pushed up over the millenia and are now being eroded out of the surrounding stone as it continues to be pushed upward.

Answer 4

Why are there shells?

Because it used to be under sea level, and was formed out of sand that had shells mixed in.

Why can you SEE the shells?

Erosion. The shells are harder than the rest of the rok.

Answer 5

Tectonics.