"Captain Billy Landing" was named by Dr Robert Logan Jack, after Captain Billy, an Aboriginal person who guided his team to the mouth of a creek.
This spectacular coastal landscape has its origins in the age of dinosaurs when Australia was part of Gondwana. The layers of sediments exposed in Captain Billy cliff, visible from the campground, are part of the Carpentaria Basin, which coves a large area of Cape York Peninsula. These Mesozoic age sediments consits of layers of siltstones and sandstones, deposited in shallow marine and estuarine environments about 95-170 million years ago (MYO). Because the sediment layers are flat laying, extensive shore platforms have developed in front of the cliffs.
Intense weathering of the upper layers of the sediments during the Pliocene (1.8-5MYO) has produced a laterite profile, about 10-15cm thick. This is easily sen at the top of Captain Billy Headland and the cliff west of the campground. The lower part of the profile is a pale,mottled, clayrich weathering zone which grades into unweathered sediments. This zone is overlaid by a more iron-rich dark brown layer containing an iron-cemented crust (duricrust). Large blocks of duricrust can be found lying on the beach at low tide, left beinds as the cliff erodes back from the shore.
The sand dunes are a relatively new addition to this ancient landscape. They formed after the last sea level rose during the Holycene period , as wind moved sand from the shore and deposited it at the base of the cliffs.
To log your visit to this site, study the information supplied at the site, and your surroundings, and answer the following questions:
Q1 The Mesozoic age sediments consist of layers of siltstones and sandstones, known is this area as ???
Q2 Why have extensive shore platforms developed in front of the cliffs.
Q3 Describe the cliffs you see to the south of GZ (facing the ocean, then to the right along the beach) What are the colours you see?
Q4 Describe the cliffs behind the camping ground, high above the beach. What are the colours you see?
Q5 What happened here about 6000 years ago to change the ancient landscape.
Optional: I would love to see a photo of your team at GZ, to track any changes in the area since our visit July 2017. If you choose to include a photo, please upload it with your log.
You are welcome to log your find straight away to keep your TB's and Stats in order but please message us with your answers. Cachers who do not fulfil the Earth Cache requirement will have their logs deleted.
This is an Earth Cache and has special requirements for logging it. You cannot log a Found It without responding to the logging requirements set out below.
Only one find claim per Message. Each Geocacher claiming a find must submit an individual response. One team can not lodge a response on behalf of a group of people. This will avoid confusion when matching logs with responses. I am sure everyone will understand..
CROC SAFE: Please be croc aware while visiting this and other beaches in the area.
CONGRATULATIONS TO JUST A TRIFLE, WHO APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING US AROUND THE CAPE.