Geocaching Training Grounds: EarthCache🌍 EarthCache

The Geocaching Training Grounds is a series of simple caches that explore the various different cache types available in Geocaching, making it ideal for beginners that are new to the hobby. The caches are hidden within the grounds of the ECOS centre which is open to the public. Please remember to follow The Countryside Code, The Highway Code and Geocaching Guidelines when out caching. The caches are achievable in less than 2 hours following the paths but be prepared, the ECOS is a floodplain for the River Braid, and often after heavy rain the paths will be innundated.

Always remember your pen and tweezers!

The series will cover:

Traditional Caches🟢

MultiCaches🟠

Mystery Caches🔵

EarthCaches🌍

Letterbox Caches✉️

What is an EarthCache🌍?

Learn how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage its resources, and how scientists gather evidence with this cache type. The cache description includes educational information along with specific geoscience questions that players will need to answer through observation at the coordinates.

Here, there is no physical container. You are awarded a FOUND IT log but correctly answering the questions given by the owner. You may need to bring a special tool for these caches too!

How to log this Earthcache

Please send your answers to me over the messaging service. Do not wait for a response from me to log your find, I will contact you if there are any issues. Logged finds with no answers and/or required photos will be deleted!

Questions

The entrance of the ECOS site is adorned by 8 igenous pillars. You will need to study one of these pillars to answer the following questions.

1) Is this rock Basalt or Granite? Explain your answer.

     HINT: Think about crystal size.

2) Based on your answer to Quesion 1, did this rock form Intrusive (inside) or Extrusive (outside) to the volcano?

3) Assuming this rock is a perfect cuboid, how much does it weigh in tonnes?

     You will need the:

     Volume (cm³) = height (cm) x width (cm) x length (cm)

     Density (g/cm³): basalt = 2.949; granite = 2.700

     Mass (g) = Volume (cm³) x Density (g/cm³)

     Convert g to ton= g / 1,000,000

4) Take a photo of yourself, your caching name of a personal object at the GZ. Make sure your photo does not reveal any of the answers.

Rocks are classified according to characteristics such as mineral and composition, permeability, texture of the constituent particles, and particle size. These physical properties are the result of the processes that formed the rocks. Over the course of time, rocks can be transformed from one type into another, as described by a geological model called the rock cycle.

This transformation produces three general classes of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

Igneous rock revolve around volcanic or plutonic processes, and they are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. This magma may be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting of rocks is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. 

Igneous rocks are divided into two main categories:

• Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools and crystallizes slowly within the Earth's crust. A common example of this type is granite.
• Volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface either as lava or fragmental ejecta, forming minerals such as basalt.

When molten rock (lava or magma) cools it can form crystals; but the size of the crystals depends on how quickly or slowly the cool down is.

If magma cools quickly, for example when lava erupts from a volcano, then many crystals form very quickly as it is exposed to the open environment and weather conditions. The resulting rock is fine-grained, with crystals usually less than 1 mm in size e.g. basalt. If the magma erupts, and cools down extremely quickly, too rapidly for crystals to form, then volcanic glass is produced called obsidian.

If magma is trapped underground in an igneous intrusion, it cools slowly because it is insulated by the surrounding rock. Crystals have more time to grow to larger size. In smaller intrusions, such as sills and dykes, medium-grained rocks are formed (crystals 2 mm to 5 mm). In large igneous intrusions, such as batholiths, coarse-grained rocks are formed, with crystals over 5 mm in size e.g granite.

So in summary, rapid cooling will produce small crystals e.g. Basalt; and slow cooling will produce large crystals e.g Granite.

Pictured Left Hand Side: Basalt      Pictured Right Hand Side: Granite 

⬆️⬆️⬆️Use this information to answer the required questions above⬆️⬆️⬆️

About the area

Ecos Nature Park lies within the flood plain of the River Braid and is an oasis of wildlife close to the heart of Ballymena town centre. 8 km of mostly flat footpath gently leads visitors around 220 acres of parkland that includes maturing woodland, peaceful lake and ponds, wet grasslands and meadows grazed by Irish Moiled cattle. Two way marked circular trails take you through the site.

In summer time the fields are adorned by, at times, hundreds of butterflies softly flitting around the meadows nectar from the wildflowers that are proliferating in the park. Your ears can be soothed by the gentle songs of meadow pipits and skylarks and many other bird species that choose to breed here. Ecos is an ideal breeding refuge for these and other farmland birds like snipe, grasshopper warbler and dunnock that are in sharp decline in other parts of Northern Ireland.

In winter large flocks of lapwing can be seen circling and swooping around the park, before settling down to feast on many insects in the soft soil of the meadows. If you approach the lake quietly you could feed the mallard ducks, geese and swans, or spot the many migrant ducks that dabble for food on the lake shore. Often you can hear the soft whistles of teal echoing across the water. Large flocks of chittering finches and linnets are a common sight busily feeding around the park.

Of particular interest at Ecos is a family of otters which are mostly very shy animals, but have been seen splashing around on the Braid River and the lake. Some unusual visitors to the park include the white-winged black terns (small terns with incredibly acrobatic flight displays rarely seen in Ireland), and a hoopoe (found most often in the Mediterranean). A particularly rare plant, the Irish Ladies Tresses Orchid appeared in 2006. This plant is only known to occur at 8 sites in Northern Ireland.

Best wishes, warmest regards

!Congratulations to fastfox on their FTF!