cave and karst Traditional Cache
Pennine Way Ranger: No longer available.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache and others along the Pennine Way are part of a Multi-Cache trail that have been set up by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Natural England with kind permission of The National Trust who own this land.
This cache is part of a longer series of Caches, located along the Yorkshire Dales section of the Pennine Way Footpath. There are 10 caches in total along the trail (8 traditional caches and 2 finale puzzle caches). The two finale caches need a combination code to access them. The only way to gain the combination for the final two puzzle caches is to find all of the other 8 traditional caches along the trail. Inside each cache will be a ‘cache code’ consisting of a word and a number. You must obtain these to open either one of the final two caches. The caches are as follows:
cave and karst (GC1P2JX)
cistercian miners (GC1P2P3)
sinkhole stash (GC1P2PT)
hill of the winds (GC1P3F6)
jackdaw hideout (GC1P2PT)
bridge over troubled water (GC1P2RK)
devils causeway (GC1P2R6)
peat and turbary (GC1PPAB)
final caches choose from either:
malham finale (GC1P3D4) or hawes finale (GC1PPAA)
Once the final caches have been opened follow the instructions to obtain your treasure!
Note: The final two caches have been designed, so they can be reached from either direction of the Pennine Way. You only need to visit one of the final caches.
Watlowes Valley
This cache is located within the dry valley of Watlowes which is dominated by the influence of limestone, and includes some of the most spectacular examples of cave and karst landscape within the Yorkshire Dales National Park and within the United Kingdom as a whole.
The limestone of the Malhamdale area is Carboniferous limestone formed during the Carboniferous Period approximately 350-250 million years ago. Limestone is a sedimentary rock formed from the shells and skeletons of sea creatures deposited on the seabed of a warm tropical sea. Over millions of year’s layers of these calcium rich shells form sediments that build up, eventually becoming compressed under there own weight and are fossilised to form hard, grey limestone rock. The limestone now found around Malham was actually formed under tropical seas near the Equator. Following its formation the drift of the continents and oceans around the globe transported the limestone to its current position.
Watlowes or Dry Valley is an impressive u-shaped valley that runs north-south from the top of Malham Cove. Dry valleys, valleys without rivers in them, are common in limestone areas as rivers disappear below ground to flow through underground caves and passages eroded along faults and bedding planes.
The valley was formed at the end of the last Ice Age when the ground was frozen and the usually porous limestone was made impermeable. The frozen ground meant that melt water from the melting ice sheet formed a large river flowing over the surface and this eroded the valley that we see today. The water from this river flowed over Malham Cove to form a huge water fall. When the climate warmed around 12,000 years ago the ground thawed and the river in the valley disappeared underground leaving the valley dry as we see it today.
More information on the Pennine Way can be found at www.nationaltrail.co.uk
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
syng ebpx pnpué
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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