The valley of Bighill Creek began to form over
10 000 years ago when the continental ice sheets covering Alberta
began to melt and retreat, water beneath and around the edges of
the ice gouged out 80 metres of the underlying bedrock, gradually
carving this little valley.
Tufa is formed when water evaporates from
lime-rich waters, leaving calcite (calcium carbonate) to
crystallize, often with impurities of iron oxides (rust), which
give tufa its yellow and red coloration.
Over the years, blocks of this tufa have been
quarried and used for rock gardens and decorative walls, and in
buildings in Edmonton, Banff and Calgary.
To log this EarthCache: Provide a physical
description and picture of the tufa deposits by the waterfalls at
the Earthcache site and explain how they were formed.