Lest We Forget: Stevenston
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The Stevenston war memorial is a white marble shrine with pediment and pillars, it stands next to the steps in front of what was the War Memorial Institute, now council offices. It was unveiled on 13th September 1930
Marble belongs to the metamorphic group of rocks, which is one of the three primary types of rock-type groupings, the others being sedimentary and igneous. Metamorphic rocks have been modified by heat and / or pressure, and / or chemical processes, usually while buried deep below Earth's surface. Exposure to these extreme conditions has altered the mineralogy, texture, and chemical composition of the rocks.
There are two basic types of metamorphic rocks. Foliated metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, phyllite, schist, and slate have a layered or banded appearance that is produced by exposure to heat and directed pressure and Non-foliated metamorphic rocks such as hornfels, marble, quartzite, and novaculite which do not have a layered or banded appearance. Marble as mentioned above, is a non-foliated metamorphic rock; it is produced from the metamorphism of limestone or dolostone and is composed primarily of calcium carbonate.
Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when limestone (a sedimentary rock) is exposed to high temperatures and pressures. Marble forms under such conditions because the calcite forming the limestone recrystallizes forming a denser rock. When it is formed from a limestone with very few impurities, it will be white in colour. A related rock, dolomitic marble, is produced when dolostone is subjected to heat and pressure.
There are many different types of marble, based on the location and colour of the stone. The colours are caused by the non-carbonate impurities present in the original rock, such as clay, sand, iron oxide, silt or chert. The metamorphic transformation veins the marble, which when pure and unpolished, is a waxy white. Sometimes marble contains fossils from the original limestone but the fossils are usually squashed out of shape.
A piece of marble will be able to be scratched by a metal blade, and marble will fizz on contact with dilute hydrochloric acid.
Marble of extremely high purity with a bright white colour is very useful. It is often mined, crushed to a powder, and then processed to remove as many impurities as possible. The resulting product is called "whiting." This powder is used as a colouring agent and filler in paint, whitewash, putty, plastic, grout, cosmetics, paper, and other manufactured products. Being composed of calcium carbonate, marble will react in contact with many acids, neutralizing the acid. It is one of the most effective acid neutralization materials. Marble is often crushed and used for acid neutralization in streams, lakes, and soils.
To claim this earthcache, please send the answers to the questions below to us by email /messenger - do not post in your online log. Your log may be deleted if these criteria are not met. Educational guidelines for Earthcaches are set by Geocaching.com and GeoSociety.org (Earthcache) and have to be adhered to.
1 Marble is formed from limestone and you sometimes find fossils in this type of rock. Can you see any fossils here? If so, what types of fossils?
2 The main colour of the marble here at GZ is white, a) what other colours do you see here? b) How would you describe them? c) What has caused them?
3 Looking closely at the stone, describe any crystals you can see
4 Rub you fingers over the stone, how does it feel? Did you expect it to feel like that?
5 While not compulsary, it is always good to see photos of your visit
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