Many people have heard of The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, but not so many have heard of this similar but smaller formation on the other side of the world. Now is your chance to learn about and visit this spectacular location.
Please be aware the sea can be very rough here at times, so pick your day and tide, and don't venture out onto the rocks if there is any danger of being swept off.
Please note that to access this earthcache you will need to cross private property. Prior to entering the land, please contact the owner, Larry Reriti, on 3050235 to obtain permission.
Geology
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The olivine basalt columns you will find here were formed from a lava flow that erupted between 80 and 85 million years ago.
As the lava cooled, crystallised and solidified, it contracted and cracked giving a giant crystalline appearance. These columns are not crystals however. If one was to break open and examine the inside of one of these columns, one would discover a mess of microscopic crystal grains of plagioclase, pyroxene, olivine and some minor other minerals such as magnetite and ilmenite.
The columns form, rather, from simply due to cooling and cracking, in much the same way as mud cracks as it dries in the sun and contracts due to dessication.
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This Earthcache
In order to complete this earthcache and log a find, you will need to complete some tasks, as listed below, and email some answers to the earthcache owner. Answers are to be emailed to the cache owner, by clicking on our profile at the top of the page, and are not to be included in your online log.
You may log your find straight away, after you have emailed your answers. You do not need to wait for permission to log your find. Please tick the box to include your email address so that we can reply to you. Found logs that do not correspond to an email with the answers will be deleted without notice.
1 Using a tape measure, measure the size (approximate diameter) of a number of columns and calculate the average size.
2 Also using a tape measure, mark out a horizontal area of 5 metres by 5 metres square and perform a survey of the columns. Perform a count of the columns by the number of sides they have: 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 (and greater) sides. Give the total number of columns with each number of sides.
3 Record the coordinates of the centre of the area you used in task 2.
4 Given your results from task 2, give your opinion on why the counts are like that.
5 Commemorate your visit with some photos of the area at the time of your visit and upload these with your online log. Do not send these to the cache owner.
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First to play with giants and learn something at the same time because learning is fun:
rack00n
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