Creating The Capes EarthCache

Notice the pinky brown bedrock of the granite gniess and then look around for the overlying younger limestone.

The rocky foundations of Leeuwin-Naturalist National Park were formed more than 1000 million years ago when several landmasses collided and created the supercontinent Rodinia.

Covering half the globe, Rodinia lasted for 250 million years until stresses within the Earth eventually broke it apart, creating new continents in its wake. Around 550 million years ago, many of the world's landmasses again collided to create a new supercontinent ..... Gondwana.

These repeated collisions and break-ups caused granite to form many kilometres below the surface of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste area. These events then changed, or metamorphosed the granite into gneiss (pronounced nice) - the distinctive banded rock seen here at Cape Leeuwin.

For over 500 million years Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana, and the South West shared it's geological evolution with neighbouring India and Antarctica.
During this time, thick layers of sediments were deposited by rivers, lakes, swamps and shallow seas that covered the Leeuwin-Naturaliste area.
When Gondwana began to break apart, large faults periodically pushed the deeply buried gneiss upwards.
The sedimentary layers were eroded away and the gneiss was exposed at the surface as a ridge. Eventually, India and Antarctica seperated from Australia, ending the turbulent evolution of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.

It's hard to imagine the lost worlds of Rodinia and Gondwana here in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. These 'old worlds' are now mostly covered by the 'new' - limestone cliffs, sand dunes and reefs.
This new landscape was created during the last two million years as the world slipped in and out of the Ice Ages, and the sea level repeatedly rose and fell hundreds of metres.

Today, the wind, rain and waves slowly break down the ancient gneiss and the overlying limestone into sand grains. Mixed with shell and plant fragments from the sea, these 'sands of time' form the beaches of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.

Enjoy a nice leisurely walk along the shoreline and look for where the limestone meets the gneiss bedrock.

A - Describe your observations about the two types of stone and any interesting features you observe.
- Is the old granite gneiss being worn away by the constant pounding of the ocean?
- Are there other obvious signs of breakdown?
- How is the limestone being affected by the action of the weather, is it being transformed into new formations and shapes?

B - Examine the makeup of the sand (a magnifying glass would be useful).
What do the particles of sand look like and what do you think makes up the sand.
- Send me an email with your observations.

This is a really beautiful coastline and we hope you enjoy this area as much as we do.
Please post a photo in your log that you have taken in the area, of yourself or team ,
*Not a requirement, but would be nice :)

FTF Congratulations DiMorgan