Having done some travelling in other countries I've seen the benefits of Earthcaches above physical caches to take me to some amazing places, and as a native of Whitstable this brilliant geological example needs to be visited
Access And Safety
The site itself is variously of coarse gravel and clay so stout footwear is required. The site is on a foreshore and the tide is a major safety factor. The tide comes in round the inshore part of the site ('Short Rock'), but there is a relatively safe exit to the east. The outer part of the site ('Long Rock') is cut off as the tide rises and should be visited only at spring low tides and with an experienced guide.
Long Rock is created by longshore drift which has formed a spit and diverted Swalecliffe Brook (a small stream from Blean, near Canterbury) to create a series of shingle ridges with marsh and freshwater. Long Rock is home to rare plants and animals, including the Water Vole. Fossils from the last Ice Age found on the beach indicate Woolly Mammoths once roamed here, as can ancient flint implements and ancient pottery.
The Site of Specialist Scientific Interest (SSSI) designation is due to Hog’s Fennel which only grows at a few locations in Britain. Significantly, it also supports the rare Fisher’s Estuarine Moth, only found in Kent and Essex.
Spits
A spit is an extended stretch of sand or shingle jutting out into the sea from the land. Spits occur when there is a change in the shape of the landscape or there is a river mouth or Estuary.
This is how spits are formed:
• Sediment is carried by longshore drift.
• When there is a change in the shape of the coastline, deposition occurs. A long thin ridge of material is deposited. This is the spit.
• A hooked end can form if there is a change in wind direction.
• Waves cannot get past a spit, therefore the water behind a spit is very sheltered. Silts are deposited here to form salt marshes or mud flats
The beach profile has lots of ridges called berms. They show the lines of the high tide and the storm tides. A sandy beach typically has a gentle sloping profile, whereas a shingle beach can be much steeper. The size of the material is larger at the top of the beach, due to the high-energy storm waves carrying large sediment. The smallest material is found nearest the water as the waves break here and break down the rock through attrition.
• To claim the cache, please answer the following questions and post a photo of you or your GPS at the Nature reserve, at the same time as logging the cache, we will reply as soon as possible,
- What time of the day did you visit? Was the tide in or out?
- What type of landform is this feature
- behind the spit, the sand has not been eroded. Why?
- What is the direction of the long shore drift that has created the Spit
- look at the beach & describe 3 types of material found here
- What speed is the incoming tide
- In your opinion what is the biggest threat to this area
Any logs not complying with the above will be deleted