Unique Red Rocks
Red Rock headland is a significant place to the local Gumbaingirr people as it was a massacre site where members of their tribe were driven off the headland. The place is known to them as Blood Rock and many members of the tribe's descendants now avoid the area as a consequence.
Geology.
The rocks that make up the headland at Red Rock are named the Redbank River beds. They comprise fine grained sedimentary rocks that were deposited in the ocean below wave and most current activity. Deposition possibly took place near an underwater volcanic vent. The formations contain pebbles and are of red jasper covered with glossy manganese oxide coating.
The Redbank River beds are very strongly deformed. They are folded and faulted and have been forced into very contorted shapes.
These rocks are an enigma to geologists; they occur only at Red Rock Headland. We do not know if they are older or younger than the rocks that outcrop elsewhere in the Coffs Harbour district. Their age may range from Silurian to Carboniferous, spanning an interval from about 420 million years to 350 million years old.
Some geologists have concluded that the unique rock types and deformation features of the Redbank River beds at Red Rock Headland are so different from other nearby rocks in the Coffs Harbour district, that they must have been deposited and deformed elsewhere prior to emplacement in their current location. One possible explanation is that the Red Rock headland is a huge block of rock which was broken from its original site of deposition and deformation, and dropped into deeper water where it was engulfed by younger sediment. Another possibility is that these rocks may represent a small preserved portion of the older rocks which could occur below the surrounding rocks in the district.
North of Red Rock Headland there is an obvious change in the coastline character, in line with a change in geology, moving out of the New England Fold Belt. North of Red Rock Headland there are very few headland protrusions, and instead the coastline is of low relief and comprises long stretches of sandy beach and coastal dunes.
Access.
The access to GZ is through the Red Rock caravan park, past the Red Rock/Corindi Surf life Saving Club and on to the public car parking area
Questions.
1) At GZ describe the rock you are standing on (colour, texture, shape).
2) What type of rock is it and what is the outer coating made of?
3) Looking east, what are the 2 main colours of the part of the Red Rock Headland facing you?
4) Still looking east, estimate the height of the highest part of the same part of the headland.
5) Please add a photo with your log of yourself, your team or your GPS with these unique red rocks.
To be able to claim a find for this cache you must send the answers to the CO. If there is any problem with them, you will be contacted. There is no need to wait for a response before you log the cache.