This earthcache is on the coast between Carsethorn and Arbigland. In order to get to it, you need to walk along the beach. You need to ensure that you have the right footwear, and I would recommend going when the tide is out. It is rough underfoot. Please use the recommended car parking, and do not try to approach the location from across country.
Many thanks to the Arbigland Estate ( http://www.arbiglandestate.co.uk) for allowing placement of this EarthCache.
Here on the coast, you need to search for a location where the rocks have become folded. A geological fold occurs when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. Folds in rocks vary in size from microscopic crinkles to mountain-sized folds. They occur singly as isolated folds and in extensive fold trains of different sizes, on a variety of scales. Sediments must have been deposited before tilting or folding took place.
ANTICLINE
An anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the location where the curvature is greatest, and the limbs are the sides of the fold that dip away from the hinge.The axial plane is an imaginary plane connecting the hinge of each layer of rock stratum through the cross section of an anticline. If the axial surface is vertical and the angles on each side of the fold are equivalent, then the anticline is symmetrical. If the axial plane is tilted or offset then the anticline is asymmetrical. Anticlines are usually developed above thrust faults, so any small compression and motion within the inner crust can have large effects on the upper rock stratum. Stresses developed during mountain building or during other tectonic processes can similarly warp or bend bedding. The more the underlying fault is tectonically uplifted, the more the strata will be deformed and must adapt to new shapes. The shape formed will also be very dependent on the properties and cohesion of the different types of rock within each layer.
Diagram showing constituent parts of an anticline.
SYNCLINE
A syncline is a concave geological fold, with layers that dip downward toward the center of the structure. This arrangement is opposite to that of an arching anticline.
Provided that the syncline has not been overturned, strata within synclines have progressively younger rock layers toward the center of the syncline, with the youngest layer at the fold's center or hinge, mirrored by the same layers in reverse sequence on the opposite side of the hinge.
This is an EarthCache. In order to log it, I ask that you answer the below 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.
(1) What type of feature is there here, anticline or a syncline?
(2) Why do you feel it is an antincline or syncline?
(3) What is the angle in degrees of the axial plane?
(4) Please describe the strata (layers), what colour are they, are they the same width?