Falls of Shin Earthcache EarthCache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Spectacular waterfall and salmon leap in the gorge of the River Shin.
Loch Shin in the Northern Highlands of Scotland drains a huge area of hundreds of square miles. The Loch itself is a product of the intense folding that took place as part of the classic Moine Thrust feature in the North West Highlands GeoPark to the west. The Moine Thrust Zone is an internationally significant geological structure that helped 19th century geologists work out how the world’s great mountain ranges were formed.
Loch Shin covers an area of over 30 square miles. The whole of this large body of water discharges into the River Shin gorge which falls a height of over 300 feet in five miles as the water rushes to the North Sea in the form of the Kyle of Sutherland and the Dornoch Firth.
At the Falls of Shin, the river gorge narrows to only a few metres and drops spectacularly at the Falls.
In spate (full flood), this waterfall is truly spectacular and dangerous as the dark orange / brown peat stained water thunders over the drop.
The falls are very famous as a place where wild Atlantic salmon can be seen leaping out of the water as they try to fight their way upstream to the safety of the Loch and feeder rivers to spawn.
A large visitor centre (signposted Falls of Shin from all nearby road junctions) used to be situated immediately above the Falls. It burnt down in 2013 and is no longer there.
To claim this cache you must carry out the following two tasks.
1) Post a photo in your log of yourself, with GPS in clear view if you can, taken at the viewing platform (cache coordinates). Leaping salmon are optional!
2) Work out the volume of water flowing over the falls in each second. I need you to estimate:
a) The width at the top lip in metres.
b) The depth at the top lip in metres. (NOT the height of the fall)
c) The flow rate just as the water flows over the top lip. (Hint - watch a moving point back upsteam and find its speed in m/s)
d) Your calculation for the volume flowing each second - multiply a) b) and c) together.
These figures have to be taken at THE LIP just before the water flows down the fall. There are no information boards here at the Falls or in the (now gone) info centre to help you - its not that sort of Earthcache!!!
Send ALL this info in number 2 (not the photo) to the cache setter by email - do NOT post in your log.Your log will be deleted if these two criteria are not met. Educational guidelines for Earthcaches are set by Geocaching.com and GeoSociety.org (Earthcache) and have to be adhered to.
Safety information:
Under no circumstances should you climb over the fences at the viewing platform to approach the falls closer.
Please take care on the approach paths to the Falls.
The routes are clearly signed from the nearby car park.
Please note: I no longer cache actively, but have kept these caches (Earth and Virtuals) for the enjoyment of those who do. I may not reply, therefore, to your email. If you are really looking for a reply, please don't log this cache.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)