Ichnofossils EarthCache
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Skipton is the gateway to the Dales, a market town in Craven, and for many a popular tourist destination. It has a vibrant market on some days during the week, and you may feel that there is not much to see geologically. Yes, around the area there are gritstone edges, and limestone caves, but here it may appear there is not much. You could argue that all the buildings are evidence of geology, though there is not much out of the ordinary when you look about. What you need to do is look down, at the floor, or rather the pavement. So it is time to use your EarthCache skills to discover and learn. The cache co-ordinates will take you to the pavement on the west side of the high street, just down from a high street outdoor shop. If it is busy, which Skipton is many a time, you may need to take your time looking. Please remember to be polite and respect others when looking. If you are in a wheelchair, the site is very easily accessible. A fossil is trace or remains of a plant, animal or other organisms. However, there is more to fossilization than just bones, or remains of a T Rex. There are many EarthCaches which can teach you about the whole process of fossilization, what we are concerned with are ichnofossils. The simpler way to understand an ichnofossil are that there are traces of a biological activity, in the form of a geological record. They are also known as trace fossils, and thus show a trace of an impression made on the substrate, and can be root cavities, feeding marks, footprints, and remains of excretia, such as fossilized droppings. Geology can be difficult to understand, so below are some easy ways to describe types of trace fossils. 1. Cochlichnus. These are caused by locomotion (i.e movement), and can be a curving or a meandering smooth horizontal trace. 2. Scolicia. These are caused by the locomotion (i.e movement) or feeding traces made by animals on or under the seadbed. They appear as horizontal bilateral, symetrical meandering trails. Imagine the imprint a bike tyre makes, you have two symetrical borders. 3. Lockeia. These have the shape similar to an almond, and in technical terms could be described as ovoid. These are the trace of a bivalve resting place. A bivalve is a type of mollusc, such as a muscle. This being an EarthCache, in order to log it, I ask that you answer some questions. Please send them to me, and do not include them in your log. You can send them to me by using the message facility or email, both of which can be found by looking at my profile. It is not meant to be difficult to do. 1. Please identify the type of ichnofossil that you can find here. 2. In your own words please describe what the ichnofossil looks like, its size (length, width and depth).
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx qbja ng gur cnivat fynof.
Treasures
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