LHT - The Quarries Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The Law Heritage Trail is a waymarked route around the Law on a walker, buggy, dog and cycle friendly track.
This cache takes you to the north side of the Law to an area that used to be a quarry.
There were two quarries on the Law. Until recently the Law was believed to have been the plug of an extinct volcano. We now know that this wasn't the case, and that it is, in fact, the remains of an underground river of molten rock that cooled and hardened. The hard igneous Andestite rock left behind was quarried for use in railways, roads, the making of concrete and as a reinforcing stone for building.
The molten rock (magma) cooled into crude polygonal columns. there are also vertical joints with some brown staining. Rain and frost continues to decompose the outer skin of the rock to expose fresh surfaces which, in turn, are attacked by weather. This is called spheroidal or "onion-skin" weathering.
The 1870 map shows one quarry in use with a smithy - another quarry is not yet begun. These are marked as disused on the 1902 map below.
By 1937 the quarries were being used as a landfill site and were partially filled in, although one was still being filled in as recently as 1981, and topped over shortly after.
There are numerous vent shafts in this area. They provide a means for gases from the landfill site to safely dissipate into the atmosphere.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Cbfgrq