Arch Ole Oli at Broken Beach 🇮🇩 EarthCache
Hidden : 6/5/2025
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


At Broken Beach on Nusa Penida Island, you will find an amazing sea arch.


After completing this Earthcache you will have a better understanding of:

What is an Arch
How are sea arches formed
The lifecycle of an arch

What is a Arch


A Natural Arch or Natural Bridge is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion from the sea, rivers or weathering.

How are Sea Arches Formed


At this location you will find a Sea Arch that formed on a discordant coastlines that runs at 90° to the coast. Wave refraction concentrates the wave energy on the headland creating a sea cave. Over time the sea cave eventually formed Arch Ole Oli and Broken Beach Bay.

Geology of Arch Ole Oli & Broken Beach: This location is formed from reef limestone in a karst landscape.

Life cycle of a Sea Arch: The birth of an arch takes place when a crack is formed along the cliffs. Hydraulic action and abrasion makes the crack larger and eventually forms into a sea cave. Over thousands of years the cave continues to grow until it was too large to support the roof and it collapsed forming the arch we see at this location. Eventually the sea arch will grow wider until it can no longer support itself and collapse due to continued erosion leaving a rock stack. The waves will continue to erode the stack making it shorter until it is a stump and eventually no longer visible above the water. The process of erosion and weathering process slowly dissolved the limestone over thousands or millions of years.

Bonus Arch Info: London Bridge (arch) in Australia GC1HNP1 collapsed on January 15, 1990 leaving 2 tourists stranded on the remaining stack until a helicopter rescued them. There is still a smaller sea arch at the location but you can see where the larger arch was before it collapsed. Bryce Canyon GC8B35H has several arches that are formed by water erosion, sand abrasion, and also freezing water causing the rock to crack.



To qualify for this Earthcache send me an email or message via my geocaching profile with the answers to the following questions. Please include the name of the cache along with your answers.
Do not post the answers in your log.
Photos are encouraged!
Also, let us know where you are from.

  1. In your own words describe the process of how the rock feature was formed.
  2. Observe the arch, what color is the rock that forms the arch? Does it appear to be rough or smooth? Does it appear to be solid or crumbly?
  3. If you visited this location thousands of years ago, what do you think you would see?
  4. If visit this location thousands of years in the future, what do you think you would see? Would the arch still be there?
  5. Please post a photo of yourself or group with the arch in the background. If you don't want to be in the photo, please include something geocaching related like a trackable, GPSr, geocaching hat, or paper with your geocaching name. Also, if you are visiting the area, include where you are from.
Sources:
Wikipedia Natural Arch
Britannica Sea Arch
Teleskola Sea Arch Lifecycle

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Additional Hints (Decrypt)

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Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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