The Great Orme Earthcache
The Great Orme (Y Gogarth or Pen y Gogarth) is a prominent limestone headland next to the town of Llandudno.
It is said that the name 'Orme' is derived from an old Norse word for Worm or Sea Serpent and on a misty day it is easy to see why. The huge headland is composed of Carboniferous limestone, which began forming about 300 million years ago, on a tropical sea bed. Fossil remains of creatures that lived during this period are to be found everywhere, revealing the skeletons of primitive Fishes, Sponges, Corals, Molluscs and other invertebrates.
During the Tertiary period, the British Isles was subject to some of the most violent and dramatic volcanic activity, which gave rise to many mountain ranges. The Orme was sheltered to some degree by the rocks of Snowdonia but slight warping and folding did occur, causing layers of limestone to fracture and produce a fault.
Dinosaurs dominated the world for over 100 million years, finally becoming extinct about 65 million years ago. They were replaced by the more adaptable warm blooded animals, which could withstand the much colder climate.
During the Palaeolithic era, Old Stone Age man would almost certainly have shared the Orme with Mammoth, Lion, Hyaena and Woolly Rhinoceros, but archaeologists have not yet established when Homo sapiens first arrived on the headland.
If the camera had been invented 10 thousand years ago, as the last Ice-Age ended, the Great Orme would have created a dismal and depressing picture. After many thousands of years locked in the grip of a vast ice sheet, the great glaciers slowly retreated and the headland emerged as a barren and near lifeless landscape.
The lime rich soil was a greyish white, having no humus, while in many places the ice had scraped bare the rock leaving no trace of soil or life of any sort.
Yet, out of this wilderness came a strange life form, which slowly encrusted the hard rock surfaces and began the gradual process of colonization. Lichen, a curious plant association between Fungus and Alga, blew in on the wind and brought obvious life and splashes of bright colour to a seemingly dead stone.
Despite the extreme cold and bitter glacial winds, certain plants survived the ice-sheets by growing into shapes which protected them from drying effects, and from the warmer south came many animals to colonise this new terrain.
As the climate became more temperate, the glaciers melted, causing the seas to rise. During the warm 'Atlantic' period nearly 6000 years ago, sea levels rose a further six feet, drowning forests and flooding the land. The Great Orme became a virtual island.
Stone Age man probably came back to the Great Orme towards the end o the last Ice Age, although some believe he never left. These Britons were a hardy race of people, constantly on the edge of survival and braving the cruelest of winters, sheltered in caves around the headland.
Information courtesy of Visit Wales (2013)
To log this Earthcache you will need to visit four locations.
Location 1 : The Summit of Great Orme
At the summit you will find a trig point.
1. At this location you will observe evidence of exposed limestone bedrock. Describe its colour and it's texture. Explain the impact of man on the immediate environment.
2. Take a photo at the summit and attach it to your log (optional)
Location 2 : Information board 1
3. There is a long history of this area being mined for a particular mineral. What mineral is it ? How long has the area been mined for ?
Location 3 : Information board 2
4. This board describes historical farming that is evident at this location. What kind of farming system was it and what evidence can you observe at the location of this activity ?
Location 4 : Summit complex
5. . A large rock is located close to the wall of the summit complex. What colour is evident in the mineral content of this rock ? What mineral is it ?
Please send all answers within 7 days of logging your find or I will remove your log
Geocache placed with permission of the Great Orme Country Park Warden