Originally part of the sea floor – this plateau displays marine fossils (or Rudists) in the dark Limestone rocks that are prevalent on Jabal Akhdar.
The Green Mountain name ahs two possible origins (gleaned from various literature). The first seems to be the most obvious, is that with the large height differential from the coastal plains below (on the Indian Ocean side) – warm moist air is forced upwards by air currents and leads to a relatively high precipitation of around 300mm per annum – which is much higher than the surrounding lowlands which can receive well below 20mm per annum. The precipitation (much of it from low cloud and fog) allows a relatively fertile area and agriculture thrives with the area being a source of roses (for rose water – an essential ingredient of many products including Omani halva); pomegranates; apricots, peaches; olives; grapes; figs and other fruits. The second is that there are areas where green copper bearing rocks are visible at the surface and the oxidized copper deposits with their distinctive green colouration lead to the name. Copper deposits were important in early history and many Omani crafts, such as coffee pots, jewellry and the distinctive curved dagger – the Khanjar – are adorned with copper. We leave the decision to you.
NOTE: Access is restricted by a police post at the base of the mountain. They check that you have a 4x4 vehicle for the steep ascent. It is a excellent tar road the whole way up – but you are not allowed without a 4x4. This cache location is also known as Diana’s lookout – so named because Princess Diana was flown up to this spot by helicopter in the 1990’s when she was doing Landmine awareness in Oman. There is another nearby traditional cache (The Royal View - GC1X0Y9) which should be on your to do list here.
Diana's Lookout - be careful of cliff edge.
SAFETY NOTE: Please take care as there is a sheer drop off close by and in damp weather – this could be slippery. Keep well back from the edge - and please keep children under a watchful eye and make sure they are aware of the dangers and act safely.
Now for the Earthcache info: Can you believe it – but Jabal Akhdar used to be under the ocean! Yep – hard to believe but it’s true. And if you don’t believe me – then let’s take a short stroll and see with your own eyes.
A – look for the darker rocks. These are Limestones of the Lower Cretaceous period.
B – Within these rocks – you will find white inclusions. Look carefully and you will start to recognize shapes and patterns that indicate that they are the fossilized remains for bivalve sea creatures called RUDISTS. Some very good examples can be spotted when looking around.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD – the name comes from the Latin root word for “chalky” – as many of the formations associated with this period are chalk and limestone based. This was a period about 145 to 65 million years ago. It was a relatively warm period of the earth’s history with a high sea level (sounds a bit like the result of the modern threat of global climate change that is currently facing the planet). The main difference is that it was a slower natural process rather than the accelerated man-induced phenomenon we are now facing. The oceans and seas were populated with now extinct marine reptiles, ammonites and rudists; and the land by dinosaurs. At the same time, new groups of mammals and birds as well as flowering plants appeared. The Cretaceous ended with one of the largest mass extinctions in Earth history, the K-T extinction, when many species, including the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and large marine reptiles, disappeared.
LIMESTONE – this is a sedimentary rock composed largely of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). It is also indicative of a karst landscape in certain areas of the world – as well as often containing caves (like the Al Hoota cave system on the plains below). Limestone was primarily deposited when organisms under the sea secreted calcite while forming shells and after dying and the shell material decaying. This was then deposited out on the seabed over time to form limestone. Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Limestone is one of the most important natural building materials and is used either as blocks (like the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt – which are built entirely from limestone) or as the base for cements. Travertine is also a form of limestone – and from the weathering of the limestone from the mountain – travertine deposits can be spotted if you look carefully at the terraces below the Sayq plateau from the view-point.
Rudists in the Rocks - note the vein too
RUDISTS - Rudists lived in shallow marine environments and are a group of box, tube or ring shaped marine bivalves that arose during the Jurassic, and became so diverse during the Cretaceous that they were major reef-building organisms in the Tethys Ocean. The Tethys Ocean was a large sea that formed of the East coast of present day Africa/Middle East as the super continent Pangea broke to form Gondwanaland and Laurasia. So you are effectively standing on the floor of the Tethys Sea now ?. A bivalve is a marine organism that has 2 halves that join together. Modern day bivalves include mussels, oysters, clams and scallops.
In order to substantiate your visit and be able to claim this Earthcache, a number of questions need to be answered and submitted to the cache developer, via e-mail.
You must also post a photograph on the site with your log of you or your team and GPSr standing near GZ. There are stunning views here and it would be an absolute shame to come here without a camera to preserve your memories. [Optional]
1. Describe your ascent of the mountain and any particularly interesting rock formations and natural phenomenon you observed during the trip to Ground Zero – include some comments about the terraces in the valley below too if you’d like.
2. Describe some of the shapes and features of the rudists you have seen – you are welcome to post photos too.
3. Describe the temperature at the base of the mountain in comparison to the top of the mountain.
Spot the "virtual" cache at the hotel - a mandoos.
NOTE: You may log your visit prior to approval, but e-mail submissions that do not meet the above criteria will be deleted.
