Glacial Diversion... Rossendale. EarthCache
Glacial Diversion... Rossendale.
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Today, the Rossendale valley is one which has been touched by the hand of man. Up on the hills are the scars of quarries and mines, whilst in the valley bottom are relics of an industrial past.
Looks beyond this, and there is evidence of the work of nature.
At the time of the ice age, the upper Irwell valley was filled with a glacial lake, which is known as the Glacial Lake Rawtenstall or
Glacial Lake Irwell.This glacial lake was ponded partly by bedrock and partly by ice originating from Scotland and the Lake District to the North and Irish Sea ice to the south.
At one point in the life of the lake, water levels rose, which led to the water overflowing and gouging out the gorge we see today. Deep gorges, such as the one that we see, were eroded with great rapidity by such overflow streams. These are known as Glacial Diversion Gorges.
Stacksteads Gorge, now has the River Irwell and a busy road running through. To encounter the true atmosphere of the gorge, you would be best to part near either end and then walk to the earthcache site. Just imagine the cold water of the glacial lake rushing through here.
There is no where to park in the gorge itself. There is a public footpath, which you can walk along.
To log this earthcache, you need to do somework, as well as visiting the site. Please contact me with the answers.
(1) How wide is the gorge at its narrowest?
(2) How tall is the gorge at the narrowest point?
(3) Please give the co-ordinates of where you find the gorge to be at its narrowest.
(4) Looking at the walls of the gorge, what does the rock feel like, and what colour is it.
(5) Photographs of you or your GPS will be welcomed. It can be an atmospheric place, so the more the better please. (optional)
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures