Bend me, fold me: Wilpena Pound EarthCache
Bend me, fold me: Wilpena Pound
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Welcome to the magnificent Flinders Ranges, take your time, admire the views and smell the roses.
At the given coordinates you will find a series of interpretive signs providing the information required to complete most of the requirements of this earthcache.
Wilpena Pound is part of a large geological formation known as the Flinders Ranges. The Flinders Ranges are the result of millions of years of geological activity. Geological activities that have taken place to form the Flinders Ranges include sedimentation, compression, resulting in folding and uplifting, and erosion.
Wilpena Pound comprises two mountain ranges joining at Rawnsley Bluff. The depression between the two ranges is roughly 17 kilometres long and up to 6 kilometres wide. There are very few natural points of entry to the interior of the Pound, with Wilpena Gap being the easiest and most accessible, which made the Pound ideal for early pastoralists.
This picture was taken near the cache Rocky Religion 3 "Moonaire Mecca" and is looking along the axis of the Pound towards Edeowie. St Mary's Peak can be seen at the far right and Pompey Pillar and Dorothy Peak at the far left
Many years ago the area you are standing would have been part of a mountain. This mountain has been eroded away over the millennia resulting in what you now see with the eastern wall of Wilpena Pound to your front (west and north) and the Chace Range behind you (east and south). The Elder Range is to south west, this range would have been connected to the south western side of the Pound.
To log a find on this Earthcache, you must complete the following tasks:
1. Is the basin shape of Wilpena Pound an anticlyine or a syncline?
2. How many million years ago did the weathering process begin?
3. What type of stone makes up the walls of the Pound? And what type of stone can be found in the valleys?
4. Elevation wise where on the Pound wall would you expect to find the oldest rocks? And the youngest rocks?
5. Estimate the age of the rocks found at the lookout.
6. Optional: Take a picture of yourself and include it in your log.
Email your answers to questions 1 - 5 to the owner, don't post them in your logs.
You may log immediately provided the email has been sent. However, incorrect answers or failure to email will result in your log being deleted.
Additional Hints
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