Look at K'gari - worlds largest sand island EarthCache
Look at K'gari - worlds largest sand island
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Drive-by-cache! You can also find the tradi RIVER HEADS nearby.
K'gari, the native name of Fraser Island, is an island located along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Brisbane. Its length is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) and its width is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi). It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992.
The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1840 km². It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia.
The island is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.
The island is part of the Fraser Coast Regional Council and protected in the Great Sandy National Park.
Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for as much as 5,000 years. Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in May of 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the most northern point of the island in 1802. For a short period the island was known as great Sandy Island. The island became known as Fraser due to the stories of a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Fraser. Today the island is a popular tourism destination. Its resident human population was 360 at the census of 2006.
The total volume of sand above sea level on Fraser Island is 113 km³. All of the sand, which originated in the Hawkesbury, Hunter and Clarence River catchments in New South Wales has been transported north by longshore transport. Along the eastern coast of the island the process is removing more sand than it is depositing, resulting in the slow erosion of beaches which may accelerate with sea level rises attributed to climate change. The sand consists of 98% quartz.
All hills on the island have been formed by sandblowing. Sandblows are parabolic dunes which move across the island via the wind and are devoid of vegetation. In 2004, there was an estimated total of 36 sandblows on the island. With year-round south-easterly wind, the sand dunes on the island move at the rate of 1 to 2 meters a year and grow to a height of 244 meters. The dune movement creates overlapping dunes and sometimes intersect waterways and covers forests. Dune-building has occurred in episodes as the sea levels have changed and once extended much further to the east.The oldest dune system has been dated at 700,000 years, which is the world's oldest recorded sequence.
The coloured sands found at Rainbow Gorge, The Cathedrals, The Pinnacles and Red Canyon are examples of where the sand has been stained over thousands of years due to the sand conglomerating with clay. Hematite, the mineral pigment responsible for the staining acts like cement. This allow the steeper cliffs of coloured sand to form. Coffee rock, so-called because when it is dissolved in water it turns the colour of coffee, is found in outcrops along the beaches on both sides of the island. (wikipedia)
Logging Requirements
At the coordinates you will find a lot of information-boards about Fraser Island and you can have also a look to K'gari.
First you have to find the info-board which is called GREAT SANDY and you will find a word above GREAT SANDY!
1. Tell us this word in your email.
Then look between the information-boards and the waterfront, there you can find special rock formations with clearly visible bedding.
Since its original formation it is likely that this rock was folded and hardened. Individual component particles are not clearly visible (recrystallisation has occured).
2. Tell us in your email, what rock type is this (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic)?
3. Measure the thick of the rock layer nearest to the water front and write it into your answer-email
OR (as an option if you don't have something to measure) add a picture of your GPSr and/or yourself infront of another information-board and put this into you internet-log.
Don't write your answers into your log, otherwise your log will be deleted.
If you will have a trip to K'gari, you can make it perfectly from this point, then enjoy the island and have a great day!
Happy caching
Airly B
Additional Hints
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Treasures
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