Welcome to the Guy the Gorilla sculpture in Crystal Palace Park.
Guy the Gorilla is an unusual sculpture consisting of two contrasting stones, black fossil rich limestone and a coarse granite.
Guy the Gorilla, the subject of this sculpture, was a famous inhabitant at London zoo. He delighted visitors for many years and has been fondly remembered in many tributes and he is preserved in taxidermy in London’s Natural History museum.
Although he looks like a formidable beast, he was in truth a gentle giant and was even known to gently lift birds who flew into his enclosure and look at them fondly.
Sculture rock
The black sculpture is possibly one of two rocks, according to contradicting online sources... one known as Black Belgian marble (from Belgium) and the other Birds Eye Black marble, From Derbyshire. Both are essentially almost the same with just minor element variations from the region they formed. And neither Marbles are Marble at all, they are both limestones. The Derbyshire variation has purple fluorite within its makeup.
Fluorite is a colourful mineral and a form of calcium fluoride. Derbyshire is one of the oldest and most famous of locations of purple/blue fluorite. It is known as "Blue John". The minerals were deposited from hot fluids coating the walls of fractures, caves, and other cavities, (such as within shell fragments). The fluorite then became "trapped" within the rock during formation.
This EarthCache will ask you about what you can see within the stone... FOSSILS!
Fossils
The sculpture is a Carboniferous limestone containing fossils. It is a sedimentary rock made of calcium carbonate. Carboniferous Limestone is from the Carboniferous period and coal was formed in this period too. The rock formed around 365-325 million years ago in warm, shallow seas which was filled with life. The rock is made up of the shells and hard parts of millions of creatures. Corals, brachiopods and crinoids are within the rock and you will see that the rock is full of visible fossils. The fossils range in shapes and sizes and there are many to look at. Most are fragments of shells although there are some really good examples of complete shells to be seen within. And there are even fragments of shell protruding from the surface of the sculpture which are possibly oysters.
Granite
Granite is a hard, igneous rock, made up of quartz, feldspar and biotite mica. Granite is formed within the depths of the Earth’s surface as molten lava was cooling. And the slower the cooling the larger the crystals of the minerals are within the granite. Granite can take thousands to millions of years to cool and form. As such fossils will not be present due to the heat and pressure that the rock is formed. Any organic material would be completely destroyed by the formation conditions, if any was ever present where granite was forming.
Questions
Look closely at the sculpture and describe what you can see. You may like to include measurements, shapes, textures and colours of the rock and fossils that you can see.
1. Please describe the gorilla rock. Please describe the colour and texture of stone, colour of fossils, amount of fossils, spacing of fossils.
2. Pick a couple of different shaped fossils and describe their sizes and shapes and markings.
3. Can you see any Blue John within the rock? And if so please can you describe it. If you found some where in the sculpture? Therefore do you believe the rock is from Belgium or Derbyshire?
4. Please describe the granite. Please describe the colour and texture of stone and size of the crystals.
5. Why are there no fossils present within the granite plinth.
6. (optional) A photo of you or your group posing with Guy, would be very much welcomed and encouraged!
Please submit answers via the message centre or by email, (links at top of the page)
Hope you enjoy this EarthCache.
