In order to claim a find on this cache you will need to visit the location given, make some observations and send me the answer to the two questions below.
You can send your answers via email (for an immediate reply) or use the message system which I check about once a week. I will reply to EVERY submission but you may log your find before you get authorization.
The location given is on a public footpath which gives access to the upper moors but can be reached with moderate effort since it is only a short walk up from the road.
You will find a huge rock at the posted coordinates and this is where you need to focus your attention.
Please devise answers for the questions below.
1 Please describe the rock in detail, include, approximate size, colour, striations and shape
2 Is the rock a local, or has is travelled here, please give evidence to support your answer.
Here is some information to help you understand why this oddity is here.
Glacial erratics, sometimes simply called erratics, oddities , or erratic boulders, are rocks that have been transported by ice during glacial movement and deposited elsewhere. The type of rock that the glacial erratic is made from is different to the lithology of the bedrock where the erratic is deposited. An erratic is usually deposited on top of existing strata and tend to stand out from the land.
For example, an erratic could be a boulder of sandstone that is picked up by a glacier, transported, and deposited on top of a limestone bedrock. This results in oddities of rock in places where they do not match the rocks they are around. Some erratics are useful to scientists because they are of a distinctive rock type, which means that their source outcrop can be identified and located. Austwick sandstone for example has been transported to this limestone location. Glacial erratics can therefore useful in understanding past glacier flow directions, distances or lengths of glaciers, the timing of glacier retreat, and even the type of glacier flow.
As glaciers move slowly across the land they break off rocks from the bedrock from further up the valley because the ice has a sandpaper effect on the ground it moves across. These rocks become suspended in the ice and depending on the density of the ice and rock can 'float' within the ice or be dragged along the base of the glacier, in exactly the same that a pebble can be dragged along a river bed and can bounce from time to time as the water flow in a little faster. If the rocks are dragged along the bottom of the glacier they will suffer erosion, like a pebble which is washed down the bed of a river. The action of rolling or dragging along the bottom of a glacier will break sharp edge off the rock causing it to be rounded in appearance. If the rock 'sticks' in a position the passage of ice or scraping along the valley floor will result in parallel lines being scored into the rock.
OK so now you know how a glacial erratic, or oddity can end up far from its bedrock and what effects this transportation can have on the appearance of the rock .
Please answer the questions above
You can send your answers via email (for an immediate reply) or use the message system which I check about once a week. I will reply to EVERY submission but you may log your find before you get authorization.
Thanks for attempting this cache.
If you do want to include a photo in your long please do not include any spoilers.
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