Welcome to Xiaoliuqiu — An Island of Geological Wonder (WEATHERING/EROSION/DEPOSITION)
In this Earth Cache, you will learn about the three kinds of forces of Mother Nature that were all responsible for shaping this area known at "Beauty Cave" — weathering, erosion, and deposition. That's right! ALL 3 kinds of this "reshaping" or "sculpting" of the land can be found on this one unique place here at Xiaoliuqiu Island. Upon learning all there is to know about weathering, erosion, and deposition you will be ready to put on your Earth Science Caps and get geological on location here at Xiaoliuqiu Island. And after you answer the task questions and complete all your "Sculpting Studies" and Observations (which can all be found at the bottom of this page), you can log a “Found It!” for this Earth Cache. I hope you enjoy! Are you ready? Let's begin . . .
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What are all these Sculpting Forces and Why are they all here at Beauty Cave?
First of all, to fully understand all the "magic" of Mother Nature that happened at this spot, it is necessary to understand Xiaoliuqiu Island as a whole. This island is the only offshore island of Taiwan that was made by corals, which used to be submerged underwater. And over time, these corals rose and exposed themselves above ground, thus forming this coral island, Xiaoliuqiu. And here at Beauty Cave, in particular, is a unique phenomenon where not only one kind of "sculpting" or "reshaping" mechanism took place, but ALL 3 — weathering, erosion, and deposition. Below is a simple diagram outlining these forces of Mother Nature that can all be seen here:
As you can see from the diagram above, weathering is when things like water and ice, or in the case here at Beauty Cave, things like seawater and plants, break down or "destroy" (i.e. change the shape of) the rock — the coral limestone rock that is. And this physical change, known as physical weathering is evident all over Beauty Cave. Another two kinds of weathering that are very easy to recognize here at Beauty Cave are chemical weathering and biological weathering. As the names imply chemical weathering is when chemicals cause some type of change to the rock, and biological is when a living thing like plants causes some type of change. Because Beauty Cave is filled with limestone rock everywhere, it's particularly susceptible to the effects of solution and oxidation — solution meaning acid rain will break down and remove rock and oxidation meaning the rocks will change to a reddish color because of their iron content. And because of this chemical weathering producing holes or other "shelter-like" places, plants and even animals will find their way here and thus grow or live within the rocks, thus causing biological weathering. So, to sum up, weathering is simply the "resculpting" of the land by physical, chemical, or biological means; and in the case of Beauty Cave, you will see that weathering in all its forms is very evident here.
The next kind of "reshaping" agent that is evident all around Beauty Cave is erosion, which is simply when the weathered rocks move away from where they are and find a new "home." You're probably thinking, "Wait, if erosion means that something is moved, how can I observe erosion if the thing has already moved away?" Well, pretty easy. Beauty Cave is literally situated along the cliffs of Xiaoliuqiu Island. And what is happening to those cliffs? They are being hit by waves constantly, causing something known as splash erosion — the splashing seawater first weathers the area, and then takes some of those broken pieces of rock away. And as you can see from the waves, that seawater is "recycled" as it comes in and hits the area, retreats a little, builds up some "power" and comes right back at it. And some of these broken rocks that were eroded away are actually coming back in the waves to hit against the area and continue the weathering process. So, there you have it. You are literally seeing erosion in action right here at Beauty Cave! You are seeing corrosion— the throwing of rocks; and attrition — the bumping of rocks into each other — all because of hydraulic action — the movement of those waves constantly hitting against the coast here. How cool is that! You are experiencing erosion in action right before your very eyes!
The last kind of reshaping agent is that can be seen here at Beauty Cave is called deposition. Remember above how weathering reshapes the land and erosion moves it? Well, the "new home" for those limestone rocks is called deposition. I mean, everything seems to be moving and finding a new home, right? And here at Beauty Cave, in theory, the limestone rock all around here is a product of deposition! Think about it — all this limestone used to be under the ocean but now has since been raised up, or "deposited." And then this "deposited" is weathered, eroded, and deposited again, and thus is the cycle of the Great Sculptor that is Mother Nature. And the plethora of deposited things that can be viewed here is known by a very special name — karstic depositions, which simply means that here at Beauty Cave are lots and lots of limestone landforms.
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Logging Tasks
Xiaoliuqiu is an island of Geological Wonder with so many unique landforms and hidden geological treasures, and here at Beauty Cave, you will see ALL 3 "magic tools" of Mother Nature — weathering, erosion, and deposition — that helped shape this unique place.
NOTE: "Beauty Cave" is NOT just one place but rather a collection of THIRTEEN places in an area that is collectively known as Beauty Cave. And YES, you will visit ALL 13 places as part of this Earth Cache, but don't worry because, by default, you will "automatically" visit them as you travel in a loop around the area so it'll be fun, trust me! 😃 And it'll only take about an hour total.
P.S. This area is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
In order to log a Found It! for this Earth Cache, please go to the Posted Coordinates and the referenced TWELVE (12) Waypoints to complete the following tasks:
1. As you travel in a loop around Beauty Cave:
Enjoy the spots aesthetically of course and take lots and lots of pictures, but at the same time, enjoy the views geologically by observing, touching, smelling, and/or measuring the areas observed. Based on what you learned about weathering, erosion, and deposition, and based on your observations of each of these areas:
Pick two out of the 13 areas to "get extra geological" —
a) Compare and contrast the weathering in detail, referencing all the information in this Earth Cache. Based on your knowledge from what you learned in this Earth Cache from the information above and based on your "geological observations", were these two areas you picked also subject to erosion and/or deposition? If so, which kinds of erosion and/or deposition? If not, why do you think this is so? How did you come to your conclusions?
b) Send me one photo (or more if you'd like) via the Geocaching Messenging Service that labels the area(s) of weathering, erosion, and/or deposition, AND the specific kinds of each such phenomenon. How did you come to these conclusions about the areas you labeled?
2. Based on your visits to and observations of the 13 places and based on the knowledge that the entire area, in theory, can be considered "remnants" of deposition, which area(s) did you observe that were "new" deposition? How did you come to this conclusion?
3. Based on your entire observations of the area, what was the most prominent kind of weathering you noticed? What about erosion? Why did you say those particular kinds of weathering and erosion?
4. Optional — Post a photo of yourself or a "Geocaching" item identifying yourself at your favorite spot here at Beauty Cave"
You may log a Found It! on this cache after you have completed the tasks and emailed me the answers. If there are any issues with your answers, I will contact you. And as a friendly reminder, please do not post any of the answers in your logs. Thank you for visiting this Earth Cache. I hope you enjoy your time here at Beauty Cave.