Wied Anglu EarthCache

The rocks which compose the Maltese islands began to form around 30 to 25 million years ago. They formed through continuous accumulations of tiny sea creatures, sediment and silt deposited on the seabed.

These rocks were uplifted for the first time 10 million years ago by the tectonic pressure exerted by the African plate against the Euro-Asian plate. As a consequence of this tectonic pressure he Mediterranean sea was cut off the rest of the oceans 6 million years ago.

This caused the drying up of the sea, only until 5 millions years ago were an ice-age ended causing the Atlantic to rise, spilling water back to the Mediterranean. This caused the Maltese archipelago to isolate from mainland Europe (mainly Sicily).

Another ice-age was experienced 2 million years ago, which brought wetter climates in this region. This caused river valleys to be formed in the Maltese islands. The ice-age ended 10000 years ago which slowed down the changing process until present day.

The Maltese rock is made up of 5 different stata:

• Upper Coralline Limestone (Qawwi) - It is a hard layer of thickness reaching 160m in the Bingemma area, Malta and its composition shows that deposition took place in shallow water. This deposition took place due to the uplift of the northern border of the Pantelleria Rift, which resulted in a shallower sea level.
• Greensands (Gebla s-Safra) - This is the thinnest layer and is usually about a metre thick reaching a maximum thickness of 11 metres at Il-Gelmus, central Gozo. Unweathered sections are green but exposed areas undergo oxidation resulting in an orange-brown colour.
• Blue Clay (Tafal) - The softest layer of the main rock strata. It is compact when dry and malleable when wet. Its colour varies from grey to brown. It is easily weathered forming rounded slopes covered with landslip debris, with the stratum thickness being variable over the archipelago.
• Globigerina Limestone (Franka) - This is a softer fine grained rock layer than the one below it. The thickness of the Globigerina layer varies between 20 metres near Fort Chambray, Gozo to about 200 metres at Marsaxlokk, Malta. This layer’s texture is homogeneous, unlike the Lower Coralline.
• Lower Coralline Limestone (Zonqor) - The oldest, visible, exposed unit of the Maltese islands. It is hard and pale grey, outcropping to a height of about 140m in the cliffs near Xlendi, Gozo. It is the most compact and crystalline of the Maltese rocks.

Wied Anglu is one of the two valleys surrounding the village of Gharghur (the other being Wied id-Dis). It was formed when the cracks in the rock eroded due to water passing consistently through them. The valley homes a variety of plants and wild vegetation, among them is the Maltese national tree. In fact, one of the theories says that the village got the name, from the fact that this tree was found in abundance in this area. Wied Anglu is crossed by the Victoria Lines attracting a lot of visitors to the area.

For more information one can visit ..here.

Now to the cache: To log a found, please send me an e-mail and answer the following Questions:

1. Go to N 35° 55.719 E 014° 26.897 . What is the height of the point above sea level (in metres)?
2. What is the name of the Maltese national tree?
3. Describe the colour and structure of the rock which when eroding left such a nice valley?
4. Which, in your opinion, is the predominant rock from the 5 types listed above? Explain your answer
5. It would be nice, if you could take a photo of you or your gps with Wied Anglu in the background.