The slate wall is within the boundaries of the museum and placed with their permission. Whilst slightly harder, it is possible to find the answers to the Earthcache questions without entering museum premises and is therefore available even when the museum is closed.
About Slate
Welsh slate has been quarried since Roman times, though the industry really took off during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it provided most of Britain's roofing slate.
Slate originated on the deep sea floor 500 million years ago. The mud deposits settled on top of each other and were later uplifted, folded and metamorphosed to form slate about 400 million years ago.
Slate splits easily into flat, thin sheets because of the alignment (called foliation) of tiny mica crystals in the rock. When expertly cut by striking parallel to the foliation with a specialized tool, slate will form smooth flat sheets of stone. Slate is also hard enough to withstand frost and ice, durable enough to last a hundred years or more and is impermeable to even Welsh rain.
Wales' most significant slate quarrying and mining locations were in North Wales at Blaenau Ffestiniog and Dinorwig (now a hydroelectric plant). After quarrying, slate was graded before it was dressed (shaped to have straight edges and uniform size). The best quality slate was free of fossils and imperfections and was the most durable. The various grades were given nicknames including 'Bodiau llwyd' (literally, 'grey thumbprints') in which visible flaws in the slate in the form of a half circle looked like thumbmarks (not to be confused with lichen). This meant that the slate was too poor to be used for roofing slates.
The Waterfront Museum has a wall clad entirely in hundreds of slate blocks. You will find this wall on the north side of the museum garden.
Visit this location and (after reading the information given) answer the following questions;
1. Observe: Predominantly, which two colours do you see in the slate? This is easier to see from a distance than up close.
2. Describe: The texture of the surface of the slate blocks.
3. Explain: The reason for this texture.
In order to log this Earthcache as found, you must first email the owner (by clicking on the link near the top of the page) and providing answers to these questions. You do not need to wait for a reply before logging your find. You will be emailed if there are any problems.
Please feel free to upload photos of yourself at the location but try to avoid giving away answers to the questions (so basically, don't include the slate wall in your shot).