|
Backmuir woods is a 45 hectare woodland cared for by The Woodland Trust in partnership with a management group from the local community.
The mixture of mature and new woodland and the wide variety of trees provide a haven for many kinds of wildlife. Jays, woodpeckers, buzzards, ferns, fungi, roe deer and red squirrels are part of that natural mix.
There are about 9km of trails, including 1.5km on a surfaced, all-abilities track. The remainder being woodland trails which can become soft and muddy after rain, so sturdy footwear is advised. The gently sloping terrain offers views over the Tay to the south and the Sidlaws to the north.
Cache is set for Backmuir woods event on Sunday 23rd October. Please do not log before this date.
Allieballie, well where do you start? This cache was inspired by her fab "Fife Rocks" series but in the meantime here are just a few of the many things we love about Allieballie:-
 |
- The information contained in her cache pages: you're guaranteed to come away saying you'd probably never otherwise have known all these things if it wasn't for caching.
- The places she takes you: how many times have you said "Thanks for bringing me here, I'd never have come here/never have known this place existed if it wasn't for caching?"
- Her logs: Nae chance of a blank log from oor AB. They're almost a novel in themselves, and more often than not, will have you on the floor in stitches. I swear, if anyone writes a book of caching adventures and funny logs, AB's are the place to start.
- Then there's AB herself: isn't she just the bees knees!!
|
AB, you're a gem.
Anyway, as per the "Fife Rocks" series we scoured the now famous wall in St. Andrews, and have been extremely fortunate to be able to help you embark on one more journey relating to a previoulsy overlooked part of "that" wall.
This cache relates to Metamorphic rock which as all visitors to any geology exibition will know, is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure (temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C and pressures of 1500 bars) causing profound physical and/or chemical change. The protolith may be several different types of rocks and Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth's crust and are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage (metamorphic facies).
They may be formed simply by being deep beneath the Earth's surface, subjected to high temperatures and the great pressure of the rock layers above it. They can form from tectonic processes such as continental collisions, which cause horizontal pressure, friction and distortion. They are also formed when rock is heated up by the intrusion of hot molten rock called magma from the Earth's interior. The study of metamorphic rocks (now exposed at the Earth's surface following erosion and uplift) provides information about the temperatures and pressures that occur at great depths within the Earth's crust. Some examples of metamorphic rocks are gneiss, slate, marble, schist, and quartzite.
The layering within metamorphic rocks is called foliation (derived from the Latin word folia, meaning "leaves"), and it occurs when a rock is being shortened along one axis during recrystallization. This causes the platy or elongated crystals of minerals, such as mica and chlorite, to become rotated such that their long axes are perpendicular to the orientation of shortening. This results in a banded, or foliated, rock, with the bands showing the colors of the minerals that formed them.
Textures are separated into foliated and non-foliated categories. Foliated rock is a product of differential stress that deforms the rock in one plane, sometimes creating a plane of cleavage. For example, slate is a foliated metamorphic rock, originating from shale. Non-foliated rock does not have planar patterns of strain.
The particular Metamorphic rock that this cache relates to comes from the modrina plasticus period in geological history and is frequently difficult to find to the untrained eye especially as it can have great variations in its the final form (shape, texture, size and colour)
The co-ordinates should take you close to where you should see a good example of a Metamorphic rock type but you may need a keen eye to distinguish it from the other types in the vicinity.
PLEASE rehide carefully - this will be very exposed if you don't. Thankyou.
|