Whitecliff, Parkstone Bay EarthCache
Hidden : 12/26/2014
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

The coordinates above will take you to the site of the old sea-cliff at Whitecliff.

This area has been designated a Regionally Important Geological Site (RIG).

The actual cliff is now fenced off, and none of the tasks required to log this Earthcache require you to cross this fence, and you must not do so.

There is an information board on site.

 

Several million years ago the clays and sands of the Poole Formation were laid down as sediments in an estuary that stretched from Cornwall and Devon. The power of the water in the estuary caused erosion and deposition along the route of the estuary. Sea level variations over a long period of time led to sand and clay being deposited in layers.

Locally, these layers are named according to the place in the locality where they come to the surface, for example, Parkstone Clay, Broadstone, Oakdale and Creekmoor Clays. The outcrop feature in front of you now is Parkstone Clay, which was the highest in the Poole Formation. Parkstone clay was particularly good for making terracotta and small pipes for smoking, which is why the Poole Formation was also known as the Pipe Clay Series.

When I was a child, the sea flowed right to the base of the sea-cliff, and we fished from the sea wall right beside the nearby railway arch, but the reclamation during the 1970s saw the landfill and the waters edge move further south.



Your tasks to complete this earthcache are as follows:

1. To prove you are actually on site and not researching online, how many nails (or wooden dowels) are attaching the top three rails to the post immediately to the right of the notice board?

2. How many million years ago was the Poole Formation deposited.

3. As you will have read on the notice board, the clays in the area had a variety of uses, please give TWO further uses, other than those listed above.

4. As mentioned, the land you are now standing on has been reclaimed, please measure the distance from where you are in front of the fence at the notice board to the rear edge of the coastal defence immediately at the waters edge. (Use the sign which says "Parkstone Bay Local Nature Reserve" as the point to which you are measuring.

5. Using your GPSr, a phone app, a clinometer or other measuring device, calculate the approximate height of the remaining exposed white cliff. (There are steps up through the woods to the right of where you're standing facing the board, or alternatively use the path to the road and turn left and walk along the pavement to the top of the cliff). Please remain outside the fenced off area whilst performing these measurements.

6. Go to waypoint 2, the original Park Gates in Poole Park, where you will be able to view the eagle mentioned on the notice board and inspect the terracotta panels. Facing towards Whitecliff, go to the pillar on the far left, and look at the terracotta relief, and count how many spiny fish are in the panel.

That completes your tasks for this earthcache.

Photographs of your experience are always welcome, but not obligatory.

In order that I may be able to cofirm your answers as swiftly as possible, please send them via my profile in the following format.

1. = _____ nails / wooden dowels

2. = Between ____ and ____ million years ago

3. = 2 further uses are ____ and ____

4. = ____ feet or ____ metres

5. = Approx ____ feet or ____ metres high

6. = _____ spiny fish on the terracotta panel

 Thank you coming to my earthcache and hopefully learning a little more about the white cliff, that gives this now, recreational area of Whitecliff its name.

With grateful thanks to The Borough of Poole Open Spaces Development Manager for kind permission for the publication of this earthcache.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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