Vetygala Exposure
Exposures in Lithuania allow us to indulge our eyes with the most gorgeous landscape. They open up history pages of the Earth already counting millions of years. Vetygala Exposure, located in the district of Anykščiai, takes us 400 million years back just like some time machine. Before the Ice Age hit our Earth, there used to be water reservoirs with armoured fish swimming around. It’s hard to imagine how those poorly developed fish, even without a skeleton, could look like. After the remains of such fish were found in the rock strata of Vetygala Exposure, the record must have been registered as the oldest fish found in Lithuania. It’s considered that their age could be approximately 300-350 million years. And how much information is encoded in this exposure… The earth formed layer upon layer is clearly visible – Mica sand layer is being replaced by bright quartz layer. Geologists have named it the history book of nature of Anykščiai region not only for the fish found there but also for the oldest layers that opened up. Vetygala Exposure stretches for more than 100 m and it is around 30 m of height. If you wish to see it or hear some locals call it differently when you ask them about it, don’t be surprised, since the exposure is also given another name – the Exposure of Žėba. It’s because the exposure has opened up on the south of Žėba Hill. The exposure has been declared a natural geological monument since 1964.
