Red Springs - Chalybeate Earthcache EarthCache

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The_Buffs: Over grown again

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Hidden : 5/13/2010
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:




Red Springs Earthcache

Welcome to Red Springs Pocket Park, an area of land donated to the village by the Frank Knight Settlement Trust, in 1991. It is a four-acre site which is owned by Walgrave Parish Council. 36 different species of trees and shrubs have been planted here to attract wildlife. The site gets its name from the streams and pond which are fed from natural springs with unusually high iron content, leaving red deposits in the water.



Northamptonshire’s geology consists mainly of sedimentary strata dating from the Jurassic period (195-135 million years BP). The Jurassic period is associated in palaeontology with the greatest amount of dinosaur remains, however none to date have ever been found in the County!

The Jurassic deposits run almost continuously from Lyme Regis in Dorset to the Clevedon Hills in Yorkshire. In Northamptonshire, the Jurassic deposits comprise of two types of rock: the Lias clays and the Oolitic series. It is the Oolitic series that is particularly important for this Earthcache, as it is made up of limestone, ironstone and Northampton sand. The Northampton sand is up to 21m deep and reaches the surface in many places around Northampton, forming outcrops.


Natural springs are a place where water appears at the earth’s surface. They are caused by water infiltrating the Earths surface, travelling through a network of cracks and fissures and collecting in porous rock strata called aquifers. Laying between beds of impermeable limestone and clay, Northampton sand acts as a natural aquifer collecting water. Springs occur when the water breaks back through to the Earths surface at a point lower than the waterline, but at the highest point in the aquifer. The naturally higher water pressure pushes the water up through the ground where it collects in the pond.

Northampton sand contains seams of ironstone and it is this iron content that leaches into the water causing the rich rusty colour of the deposits found in the pond.The pond condition changes with the weather - after rain it can be beautifully clear and very red, but becomes murky and dull in colour during dry periods. Springs containing a high iron content are known as "Chalybeate Springs". The word chalybeate originates from the Chalybes, a mythical group of people who were meant to have invented iron working. In the early 17th Century the waters from Chalybeate springs were believed to have many health giving properties and were used as a treatment for:
  • Hysteria
  • Colic
  • Melancholy
  • The Vapours
  • Flat worms in the belly
  • Loosening clammy humours of the body
  • Drying the over-moist brain

However, if you are suffering from any of the above conditions then I'd recommend that you see your doctor rather than drinking the water from Red Springs!



Please note: dogs are permitted in the pocket park but must be kept on a lead.



To claim this Earthcache you need to:


Enter the pocket park through the kissing gate on Kettering Road. Follow the path down and then cut across to the left. It is not very obvious, your GPS will help. Just a short way from here you will find the spring/pond, at N 52° 20.607 W 000° 48.907


You need to answer the following questions and email the answers to me via my profile:

1) Look at the bank/water on the far left hand side of the pond. What evidence can you see that proves that is pond is caused by spring water?


2 ) At the right hand side of the pond, what other hydrological feature has been caused by the spring?


3) Estimate the size of the longest side of the main body of the pond?


If you wish to include a photo of a section of the pond with your log that’s fine – but please not containing anything that will give the answers away!



With thanks to Walgrave Parish Council for granting permission for the Earthcache.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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