Waterfall on Bucegi Mountains EarthCache

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff. Waterfalls are considered to be one of the most beautiful phenomena in nature.

Formation

Waterfalls are most commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens slowly, while downstream the erosion occurs more rapidly. As the watercourse increases its velocity at the edge of the waterfall, it plucks material from the riverbed. Whirlpools created in the turbulence as well as sand and stones carried by the watercourse increase the erosion capacity. This causes the waterfall to carve deeper into the bed and to recede upstream. Often over time, the waterfall will recede back to form a canyon or gorge downstream as it recedes upstream, and it will carve deeper into the ridge above it. The rate of retreat for a waterfall can be as high as one and half metres per year.

Classification

Waterfalls are grouped into ten broad classes based on the average volume of water present on the fall using a logarithmic scale. Class 10 waterfalls include Niagara Falls, Paulo Afonso Falls and Khone Falls.

Types

• Block: Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river.
  
• Cascade: Water descends a series of rock steps.
  
• Cataract: A large, powerful waterfall.
  
• Chute: A large quantity of water forced through a narrow, vertical passage.
  
• Fan: Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with bedrock.
  
• Frozen: Any waterfall which has some element of ice.
  
• Horsetail: Descending water maintains some contact with bedrock.
  
• Plunge: Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock surface.
  
• Punchbowl: Water descends in a constricted form and then spreads out in a wider pool.
  
• Segmented: Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends.
  
• Tiered: Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls.
  
• Multi-step: A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size each with its own sunken plunge pool.

Geology

The majority of waterfalls result from layers of rock composed of different degrees of hardness. Hard layers are more resistant to erosion. Soft layers are quickly removed. This is visible all around us in the mountains. Most of our summits are made of resistant limestone or dolomite. The softer shale layers remain protected beneath these resistant caps. If a river flows over a lip composed of a layer of resistant material (like dolomite), that lays atop a softer layer of shale, then the water will remove the soft layer beneath the dolomite at a faster rate. In this way, waterfalls often become undercut as this soft material is worn away. This results in the caves found beneath many waterfalls. Eventually, the undercut becomes so large that the weight of water on the unsupported layer of dolomite will be sufficient to collapse the layer. At this time, amidst a catastrophic collapse, the cave disappears, and the cliff face moves further up the valley. In many cases, the hard-soft layer relationship remains, and the falls simply migrates upstream. This creates a canyon in front of the waterfall. As long as the hardness differential remains, the waterfall will persist.

If you want to log this cache, you have to complete three tasks.

1) Estimate what type of waterfall is this? OR Find out, which kind of limestone is mostly here around this waterfall.

2) Send me the names of some plants, which grows in the surroundings. (Or names of the mammals, which you can see here) ?

3) Take a picture of you near the waterfall and upload the image to your log. The photo is optional and is not required to log this EarthCache

You can start logging immediately.I will contact you in case of any issues.

O cascada este locul unde o apa curgatoare cade rapid de la inaltime. Cascadele sunt considerate a fi unele dintre cele mai frumoase fenomene naturale

Formare

Cascadele se formeaza cel mai adesea cand un rau este tanar. In aceasta perioada canalul prin care apa curge este de cele mai multe ori ingust si adanc. Cand raul trece peste o "podea" de roca rezistenta, eroziunea se petrece incet. Pentru ca apa isi mareste viteza la "intrarea" in cascada poate lua cu ea diverse materiale de pe fundul raului. Vartejul creat de tulbulenta impreuna cu nisipul si pietrele duse de rau maresc capacitatea de eroziune si sa micsoreze cantitatea de apa in aval. Asta face ca timp sa se formeze in la baza cascadei o mica "piscina", roca mai putin dura erodandu-se mai rapid.

Clasificare

Cascadele sunt grupate in 10 clase, impartire bazata pe volumul de apa prezent in cascada (se foloseste o scala logaritmica). Printre cascadele de nivel 10 se numare Niagara, Paulo Afonsi si Khone.

Tipuri

• Bloc: in aval este un rau sau o suprafata extinsa de apa
  
• Cascada: apa coboara pe o serie de trepte de roca
  
• Cataracta: o cascada mare cu un debit ridicat al apei
  
• Tobogan:o mare cantitate de apa care curge printr-un canal ingust, vertical
  
• Ventilator: cascada are o latime mare, apa fiind mereu in contact cu roca
  
• Inghet: orice cascada care contine gheata
  
• Coada de cal: apa are contact partial cu peretele din roca
  
• Scufundac: apa curge vertical, nu exista contact cu peretele de stanca
  
• Ligheanul cu punci: apa curge in mici vase apoi se aduca intr-o mare piscina
  
• Segmentat: siruri separate de apa
  
• Nivelat: apa curge intr-o serie de trepte separate
  
• Multi-trepte: o serie de mici cascade, avand cam acelasi dimensiuni, fiecare cu o piscina propie.

Ca sa loghezi cutie trebuie sa faci 3 lucruri:

1) Ce tip de cascada este?

2) Ce tipuri de plante, animale sunt specifice zonei? (nu uita ca esti intr-o rezervatie naturala)

3) Fa o poza cu tine, cascada si GPSul propiu ca in imaginea atasata.

PS. Nu astepta raspuns la email. Logheaza imediat. Te voi contacta eu daca ceva e in neregula