Bride's Pool Nature Trail lies at the northwestern end of Plover
Cove Reservoir in Tai Po.
Take a bus for Bride's Pool and get off at the last stop, where
the green-roofed Lion Pavilion welcomes you. Follow the road and
bear right, a tall wooden portal with the sign "Bride's Pool Nature
Trail" soon comes into view.
A slate has
been laid near the entrance of the Bride's Pool Nautre Trail. It is
a metamorphic rock with small grain and obvious cleavages. During
earth movement, sedimentary rock like shale was subjected to
effects of high temperature or high pressure. Street-like minerals
were re-arranged along a particular surface and became cleavages
that break easily and are slightly reflective. Find the reflective
surfaces of this rock by looking from different angles.
Just a short distance up the gentle slope, rippling sound of the
stream. This is Bride's Pool, the first stop of the trail, and one
of the most idyllic waterfalls in Hong Kong. How it was formed? The
upper conglomerate rocks were more resistant to water erosion than
the lower layer sandstone. Thus, the lower layer had been eroded
away more quickly, leaving the harder upper layer forming the roof
of the fall. As water flowed down, it gained momentum and force and
plunged against the base rocks with great impact.
Legend has it that a bride passed by this treacherous part on
her way to the wedding. In bad weather, the wedding sedan chair
fell into the pool and she was washed down the waterfall. In
memories of this ill-fated bride who got drown here the pool was
named Bride's Pool.
Up ahead, it can see contrasting flora displays on the opposite
slopes. The north facing slope, being sheltered and humid, have a
greater diversity and denser distribution of trees. The
south-facing slope, exposed to sunlight and strong wind, has sparse
vegetation. Mostly grasses are found there.
Further up
the trail lies Bride's Pool Bridge. On the riverbed just by the
bridge, you will find an erosion pothole carved by swirling sand
and stones, which are washed down by water seeping through rock
crevices. They were often formed in rocks of moderate resistance
such as granite, sandstone and conglomerate. The presence of joints
in the rock also favored such information.
The trail is lined by dense forests on both sides. There are
always sweet sounds of insects and bird songs to accompany you, and
plenty of opportunities to learn about flora species. Not far from
here lies another stone bridge, link between Wu Kau Tang and Chung
Mei Village. After the stone bridge, follow a flight of steps to
the end of the trail.
To log this cache, please send the answer of the following
questions to owner (All the answers can be found on those metal
plates along the trail.):
1. What is the length of the Bride's Pool Nature Trail?
2. What is the diameter and deep of Bride's Pool?
3. Name any 2 out of 4 "Rs" rule to solve the waste problem?
4. When was the Bride's Pool Stone Bridge built?
5. (Optional) Post a photo of your GPSr with Mirror Pool (Chiu Keng
Tam) in the background.
Please don't post the answer into the log.
(P.S. An EarthCache site is a special place that people can
visit to learn about a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our
Earth. The treasure is the lessons people learn about our plant
when they visit the site. Any irrelevant misleading information
will be deleted.)