The old barracks stand on Britannia Road (now a prison) and there is a path down from the car park in front to the memorial.
(More information further down. BUT first the earth lesson.)
Granite
Granite is an igneous rock which means that it is formed by volcanic activity, which strength approaches that of diamonds. It has cooled very slowly beneath the surface of the earth, givng the crystals a long time to grow. The main mineral crystals within granite are quartz, feldspar and mica. The minerals are what determine the color variations in the stone. The granite pushed its way upwards as a liquid and then crystalised. Slightly different chemical composition changes the precise number of each type of crystal and therefore the colour of the granite. Melting temperature for granite is 1215–1260 °C (2219–2300 °F). Quartz itself is not an igneous rock but a mineral that forms within a variety of igneous rocks. Feldspars are a group of minerals (eg Orthoclase, Plagioclase) rather than a rock.
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Granite has tiny pits or spaces between the various mineral crystals. This is caused primarily by Biotite (small black minerals found throughout the slab). The pits do not make the granite less durable and do not qualify a slab as unusable or replaceable. Granite also contains natural fissures, fissures in granite are visible separations along inter-crystalline boundaries. These fissures may appear to be cracks but are not structural defects and will not affect the function or durability of the stone. These occur naturally and are considered to be a part of the natural beauty of the material.
Granite's a very hard stone. It's hard because it formed as hot liquid stone, and so the molecules inside it are all jumbled up any which way, instead of lying in layers as in sedimentary rocks like limestone or slate.
Because granite is so hard, people sometimes use it for building stone or statues if you want them to last a long time. But granite is so hard that it's also hard to cut into blocks or statues. In ancient Egypt, sculptors used granite to carve status of pharaohs. People today often use granite for kitchen countertops, too.
Quartz
Quartz is an igneous rock made out of molecules of silicon and oxygen atoms held together in a crystal pattern. All of the silica and oxygen that make quartz came originally from the insides of stars, and it shot out of the stars when the stars exploded as supernovas. Then the silica formed part of a nebula, a dust cloud floating in space.
Nobody knows exactly how the silica got to Earth from the nebula, but once it did, it sank down under the lighter elements of Earth (oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon) but stayed above the heavier elements (mainly iron). So silicon got stuck in the middle - not in the core, but not on the surface either. In this middle zone, it was hot enough to melt rock. Most of the silica on Earth is still in this melted state. Only a little of it has gotten close enough to the surface to cool down and become solid rocks like quartz or granite.
There are many different kinds of quartz, depending on exactly how it cooled down. Some kinds have large crystals, and some have very small crystals. Small amounts of other materials that get into the stone can give it colors - quartz with a little iron in it is a pink color or a purple color called amethyst. Some kinds of quartz are nearly transparent (you can see through them).
When people want quartz today to make things out of, they often make it themselves in hot furnaces, rather than digging it out of the ground. By controlling the process, people can make perfectly even quartz with no irregularities. People use perfect quartz to make digital watches and computer microprocessors. Most glass is made by melting sand made of tiny bits of quartz. People also use quartz crystals in various religious ways.
Quartz also often becomes a part of other kinds of rocks. Some igneous rocks, like granite, have quartz in them. Some sedimentary rocks, like sandstone and limestone, also contain quartz. And some metamorphic rocks, like marble, have quartz in them too.
Feldspar
Feldspar is a very common igneous rock - more than half of the Earth’s crust is made of feldspar. When molecules of aluminum, silica and oxygen get together with potassium, they combine to make the rock feldspar.
Feldspar often combines with quartz to make a much harder igneous rock called granite. Feldspar and pyroxene combine to make basalt. When feldspar is in contact with wind or water, the wind and water gradually grind the feldspar down into tiny grains that become one kind of clay called kaolin.
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Mica
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The mica minerals are distinguished by their perfect basal cleavage, which means that they are easily split into thin, often transparent sheets. Two micas, biotite and muscovite, are so common that they are considered rock-forming minerals. The rest are relatively uncommon, but phlogopite is the most likely of these to be seen in the field. Rock shops overwhelmingly favor the colorful fuchsite and lepidolite.
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The general formula for the mica minerals is XY2-3[(Si,Al)4O10](OH,F)2, where X = K,Na,Ca and Y = Mg,Fe,Li,Al. Their molecular makeup consists of double sheets of strongly joined silica units (SiO4) that sandwich between them a sheet of hydroxyl (OH) plus Y cations. The X cations lie between these sandwiches and bind them loosely.
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Along with talc, chlorite, serpentine and the clay minerals, the micas are classified as phyllosilicate minerals, "phyllo-" meaning "leaf." Not only do the micas split into sheets, but the sheets are also flexible.
To log this cache.
To get to log this cache you will have to visit and answer the questions which are related to the coordinates given the earthcache.
When answers are collected, send them to CO for verification.
As I own about 50 earthcaches there are MANY mails/messages to answer back on, and I will not always be able to answer right-back, BUT I READ ALL SENT ANSWERS AND LOGS, so if anything is not correct or need an upgrade, you will indeed hear back from me.
Thanks for your understanding, and for picking one of my caches.
You can log immediately answers are sent CO. If there are any questions about your answers CO will contact you.
Logs without answers to CO or with pending questions from CO will be deleted without any further notice.
Please do not include pictures in your log that may answer the questions.
Questions
1. Answer the questions under by visiting the Coordinates.
A. What type of stone do we have here?
B. If you look very closely, what can you say about what you see. Detailed answer here please! (Answer can be found at GZ)
C. Have a look at the monument stone and tell me what type of mica you can find in the stone? Use the name(s) and color(s) shown from the photo added to the cache text above! (Answer can be found at GZ)
D. What is granites melting temperature? (Answer can be found in text)
E. What type of base does this monument stand on? (Answer can be found at GZ)
2. Take a photo of yourself, the group or your GPS when logging the cache.
Without revealing any answers!
Mottram Memorial
The view is based on that from the site of the plaque relatively high up on St James Hill and down from the prison. It shows the city's skyline from Foundry Bridge to St James on the right. The viewpoint has been chosen to give aded prominence to the Cathedral tower and spire above the skyline in the centre. The view - now partially blocked by a tree- has changed little except for the loss of the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital and the addition of the Forum. Other changes - the Castle Mall and Chapelfield shopping centres - play only a small part from this viewpoint.
Panoramic views are often painted or engraved less frequently done with such assurance in bronze. This was a suitable choice of scene for the memorial to R.H. Mottram. He had served in the first world war - an experience which prompted him to take up novel writing and abandon his career as a banker. The panorama reflects his twenty-five years as a firm and incisive secretary of the Norwich Society from 1930 onwards when he was greatly concerned at the damaging effect of traffic on the City's character.
Inscriptions:
On plaque at front: In memory of Ralph Hale Mottram 1883-1971/Man of Letters / Lord Mayor of Norwich 1953-1954/Erected by public subscription in response to an appeal by the Octagon Unitarian Chapel/and the Norwich Society with both of which he was closely associated for many years. Above the view of Norwich from left to right: Foundry Bridge/ Normandie Tower/ St John de Sepulchre/Peafield Mill/St Julian/ Notre Dame Convent & High School/ Norwich School Playing Fields/ St Peter Parmentergate/Eastern Counties Newspapers/ Norfolk & Norwich Hospital/St Peter Mancroft/ Barclays Bank/ Royal Hotel/Castle/Ethelbert Gate/St Helen and Great hospital/University of East Anglia/St Andrews Hall/Blackfriars Hall/ St John R.C./St Gregory/St Giles/Alnwick Gate/St Lawrence/St Margaret/St Benedict/St Clement/ St Martin at Palace/St George Colegate/St Michael Coslany/Octagon Chapel/River Wensum/St Mary Coslany/St Edmund/Jarrolds Printing Works/ /H.M. Stationery Office/ St James. This is the fourth plaque to have been cast from David Holgate's model. The first was stolen in 1974, and the next replacement was also removed. The third bronze survived the attack of May 2011 when it was recast in acrylic, so that it should not attract theft for scrap, and the granite plinth renewed with the inscription on granite, rather than in bronze
