I’ll bet you these rocks would fill a few wheelbarrows.
Our aim with this Earth Cache is to take you to an interesting spot. Earthcaches should be easy but on the other hand take you to a cool spot. We think we’ve arrived at that combination here.
Mount Barrow is a mountain in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. With an elevation of 1,406 metres above sea level, the mountain is located east-north-east of Launceston. The mountain habitat is a mixture of temperate old growth rainforest, subalpine and alpine landscapes.
Mount Barrow started forming approximately 180 million years ago during the Jurassic Period when the old super continent Gondwanaland began splitting up. Weaknesses in the earths crust due to these movements allowed Lave to intrude and spread out. The resulting magma cooled slowly below the surface to form a very hard rock called dolerite. Over the next 80 to 90 million years the rocks above the dolerite were gradually worn away leaving a hard erosion-resistant cap.
Dolerite is an igneous rock that comprises plagioclase, clinopyroxene, quartz, ilmenite and a small percentage of potassium feldspar and amphibole. Tasmania has the largest exposure of dolerite in the world of 30000 km2 and a volume of 15000 km3. In Tasmania the rock is characteristic of many mountains with its columnar joining and dark blue grey colour.
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From the posted Waypoint describe what you see and how you think the rocky landscape came to be like it is? Include in your description what size you think most of the rocks are.
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Describe the landscape at GZ compared to the drive up the mountain.
TASK: Take a photo from near GZ and include it in your log to prove that you have attended the location. This non-spoiler photo should include yourself and/or your geocaching name and date of visit. Preferably the photo will show how happy you are to find this Earthcache.
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 within a couple of days. We will at some stage review your answers but we may not always reply. If there are any concerns or your answers need extra work we will contact you. Logs with no answers and photo and who do not fulfil this Earth Cache requirements will have their logs deleted without notice.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Barrow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Tasmania
https://keeptassiewild.com/blogs/southward-journal/dolerite
https://aboriginallaunceston.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-Geomorphology-of-the-kalamaluka-Seccond-Edition.pdf
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 within a couple of days. We will at some stage view your answers but we may not always reply. If there are any concerns or your answers need extra work we will contact you. Logs with no answers will not be accepted. Cachers who do not fulfil this Earth Cache requirement will have their logs deleted without notice.
Please take caution driving this UNSEALED road, we have rated the TERRAIN as 2.5 due to the road. It comprises a steep collection of switchbacks but also provides spectacular views of the valleys to the north and west. The road in places is very steep and only single lane, hitting a 16% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps. There is room to park one car at the posted co-ordinates but ensure you leave room for other traffic to pass.