The Wall of Plakias: one of the largest vertical fault planes in Europe
The Greek island of Crete is located on a tectonically very active area in the Mediterranean Sea, the subduction zone where the African slate is pushed under the European slate. Therefore this is the area of Europe with most earthquakes. Since the center of the quakes is rather deep, usually no major damages occur. The geotectonic movements lead to disturbances of the sedimental layers by foldings and faults.
The area around Plakias is visited by thousands of tourists every year, who are not aware that they are visiting an area which is most interesting for geologists and paleantologists (Gentzis et al., 1972). A new exploration campaign is planned in the Amoudi/Damnoni area in 2013.
Plakias is situated at the western end of the Lefkogia fault, which created the valley stretching in east - west direction between the gorge of the megalopotamos river and the bay of Plakias. This very complex fault is decribed in the geological literature (Bonneau et al, 1977, fig. 34)
At the bottom of Mount Korifi, well known among paleontologist for its fossils (de Bruijn & Meulenkamp, 1972), dominating the southern part of the Bay of Plakias, is "The Wall".
A vertical cliff more than 40 m high and 200m wide rises vertically to the sky, caused by tectonic movement.
The surface of the wall is a so called fault plane created by two different layers of stone sliding along each other. The vertical stripes indicate the direction of the slide. During the latest pleistozene the layer closer to the bay sunk into the Lefkogia fault, leaving the "wall" as one of the major vertical fault planes in Europe.
When you are standing at the bottom of the wall, you will see series of little dots, a few centimeters wide, which could be the impressions or traces of prehistoric animals in the seabed. Currently I'm in contact with geologists to investigate into that further - unfortunately with no clear result so far. (see the photo in the gallery)
For the German-speaking GEOCachers I strongly recommend the site of "Kreta Umweltforum" visit link, it contains many very useful information on Crete, places to visit, geotopes, wildlife and the like!
In order to log this cache, please send your answers to the following questions to the owner:
1 a. On the photo above, there is a yellow ellipse. Behind it on the wall, there are some large strange indentations/holes in the wall forming a line. How many?
1 b. What do you assume has caused these indentations/holes?
2 a. On the photo above, you can see two cracks in the wall. One is marked with an "A" the other with a "B". Which one leads to a small cave, large enough to walk in?.
2 b. Have a closer look at "A" and "B" when you are at the site. Find out what caused the openings in the rock. ( different from 1 b!)
In case of doubt, you can always contact the owner.
You do not have to wait for a log permission, you can log right away. However, if there are problems with your answers, I will contact you.
Even though photos are not required as proof any longer, they are more than welcome. But take care not to show any element pertaining to the questions.
BTW, EartchCaches can be honoured with a Favorite Point, too.
;)