You will note the obvious red iron based characteristic of the cliff face which towers over the gorge..
Why is the rock red? The original rocks were coated with the red iron oxide, which stained the rock. Later weathering by rain has dissolved and brought the colouring to the surface with the resultant dark red colouring.
Iron (Fe) is one of the most abundant rock-forming elements, constituting about 5% of the Earth's crust. It is the fourth most abundant element after oxygen, silicon and aluminium and, after aluminium, the most abundant and widely distributed metal. Iron is indispensable to modern civilisation and people have been skilled in its use for more than 3,000 years. However, its use only became widespread in the 14th century, when smelting furnaces (the forerunner of blast furnaces) began to replace forges.
Iron ores are rocks from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. About 98% of the world iron ore production is used to make iron in the form of steel. Iron ore provides the foundation for one of Australia’s major export industries.
Layers of sedimentary material was laid down over many years, forming the layers or strata which you see before you at this location. Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the deposits and subsequent cementation of that material at the Earth’s surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles (detritus) to settle in place.
To log this cache, go to the listed coordinates and email me the answers to these questions. You can immediately log the find and if there are any problems I will contact you.
You can immediately log the find and if there are any problems I will contact you.
QUESTIONS
1 Standing at the co-ordinates, note the folding in the laterite layers, and the forming of the small cleft in the cliff face. What might explain the way the layers have formed?
2 Looking at the highest visible point in the cliff facing you, estimate (approximately) how high it is from the water's edge.
For extra brownie points give the altitude where you are standing.