Londonderry Rock (West Coast) EarthCache
Londonderry Rock (West Coast)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(other)
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A pleasant10 minute walk over uneven ground. watch out for slippery rocks.
A Glacial Erratic is a rock or rock fragment transported by a glacier and deposited on bedrock of different composition. Glacial erratics range from a few millimeters to several yards in diameter. The one at this location is approximately 14 meters long and 8 meters high and thought to weight around 3000 to 4000 tons.
It is believed that this rock traveled down the Taramakau Valley on top of the ancient Taramakau Glacier during the last Ice Age, becoming part of the surrounding Glacial Moraine (the hills formed by debris pushed along by the glacier) when the glacier retreated.
This whole area was mined for gold in the late 1800's, using sluicing methods to wash away dirt and clay, leaving behind gold and mine tailings (the many half meter diameter boulders) which were stacked on top of one-another by the miners, out of the way. of their mining activity.
This sluicing activity eroded about 20 meters of surface material, exposing the rock, which fell to its present position in 1880.
To log this cache you need to supply the following information;
Please email me the answer to the following question;
"How many meters wide is the rock (according to the sign at the car park)?"
Please upload a photo of yourself, with you GPS clearly visible and with the rock clearly visible in the background when you log the cache. Cache logs without a photo will be deleted.
Additional Hints
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