Almost 100 mineral springs have been recorded in Harrogate. The majority of the springs emerge either in the centre of Harrogate or further northwest here in the Valley Gardens, an area also known as 'Bogs Field'. Many of the springs are connected by ancient pipework and in total are thought to discharge around half a million litres a day. The local geology comprises rocks of Carboniferous age. A series of mudstones, sandstones and limestones have been folded and faulted, controlling the distribution of the springs and forming the Harrogate Anticline. The many Harrogate mineral springs do not all originate from the same aquifer, but rather from a complex multi-aquifer system comprising Namurian sandstone and the limestone of the Harrogate Roadstone.
Some of the spring waters are highly mineralised, suggesting slow-flowing, deep water circulation to depths of several hundred metres. The other less mineralised springs have a shallower water circulation with a shorter residence time. The spring closest to the centre of the Harrogate Anticline has the highest mineral content, rich in sulphur, and emerges in the Royal Pump Room. Tourists flocked to Harrogate to bathe in the spring water and to take the water in the Royal Pump Room, believing the waters to be beneficial for skin complaints such as eczema.
This Earthcache will require you to do a mixture of research and on-site information gathering.
Bogs Field is a wonder of the natural world, where a greater number of unique mineral springs come to the surface than at any other known place on Earth! There are 36 natural springs rising in a 1 acre area and no two springs in Bogs Field are alike in chemical composition. The waters are Magmatic or Plutonic in origin, having never existed as rain, and have flowed deep beneath the earth for 20,000 years before rising through vertical shafts in the strata.
Please make your way to Waypoint 1
Question 1 - This is the site of the Magnesia Well, the source of one of the most popular waters in Harrogate. Look at the well and tell me what water from the Magnesia Well was recommended for. The water was for drinking, which unfortunately you cannot do any longer. From the description given tell me what you think the water would have smelled like?
Please make your way to Waypoint 2
Question 2 - A short walk from the Magnesia Well and you will find another well with different characteristics. Tell me the name of this well and the characteristics of its water. Given the geology of the area how do you think that two wells so close together can have such differing characteristics?
Please make your way to Waypoint 3
Question 3 - Take a look around this area and the other footpaths in the vicinity. There is groundwater present almost all year round and there is staining to the paths and earth. Tell me the colour of the staining and how you think it has come to be like this.
Please make your way to Waypoint 4
Question 4 - You have visited the Magnesia Well on your stroll through the Valley Gardens. Take a look around and tell me when the chemical analysis of the water from the Magnesia Well took place and by whom. Also, study the chemical composition of the water from the Magnesia Well and tell me what was the major ingredient in the water. How do you think this would have made the water taste?
A photo of you by one of the well heads would be good, but this is not a logging requirement
Please email your answers to the questions to me through my geocaching.com profile. You do not need to wait for confirmation to log the Earthcache, but any logs which are not followed up with the correct answers within 24 hours will be deleted to deter armchair cachers.
I hope you have enjoyed this tour of Bogs Field and have learned something about its natural geology.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING