The Yorkshire Wolds EarthCache

This is an Earthcache located at the small village of Bishop Wilton on The Yorkshire Wolds. The Yorkshire Wolds are chalk escarpments located between the towns of Hessle and Flamborough.

 This Earthcache is going to explain the formation of this landscape and how it was shaped to appear how we know it today.

The Formation of the Wolds

1. Thousands of years ago chalk formed in horizontal layers at the bottom of the sea bed due to the build-up of sediment and dead marine life from the sea and rivers.
2. Over time earth movements caused this rock layer to tilt diagonally with half rising above sea level and half sinking deeper into the earth.
3. After the ice age glaciers and ice sheets left a fine, soft rock we know today as boulder clay, this substance filled the gaps between the diagonally layered chalk.
4. As clay is less resistant than the chalk, it eroded far quicker so left large chalk hills and flat clay vales (in this case the ‘wolds’ are the chalk hills and the ‘vale of York’ is the clay vale). Due to the diagonal layering of the chalk, escarpments form, an escarpment is a hill of which one side has a very steep incline leading into gentle sloping decent, these are known as ‘scarp slopes’ and ‘dip slopes’. It is clear to see these slopes on the Wolds, if you are traveling down the A166 to Bridlington for example, ‘Garrowby Hill’ is the steep scarp slope and the gentle decent towards Bridlington is the dip slope.

How to Claim a Find

To claim this Earthcache please send the answers to the statements below to us via the 'Geocaching Message Centre' (there's a link to the message centre at the top of this cache page under 'Message This Owner') or via e-mail.

1. Travel to the first waypoint (Stonetable Hill), find a small sample of the rock there and send us your observation of it. (We would like a minimum of 3 different properties, plus the name of the rock)
2. Now travel to the second waypoint (Bishop Wilton Beck) and observe the type of rock the beck is running through. Send us your observation of that rock and how it differs from the rock at the first waypoint. (Again, 3 different properties and the rocks name)

If you wish to use photographic evidence, please only send this to us (via the message center) with your answers, any pictures of rock will be deleted from your log.

Good Luck!