The Earthcache can be accessed via a concrete pathway. It is accessable for both wheelchairs and strollers.
Cardiff Point Gravel Quarry
Situated between the quiet suburbs of Belmont and Valentine by the Lake, the Green Point Foreshore Reserve has all the features to make it one of Lake Macquarie’s most scenic and enjoyable natural attractions for cycling, walking and picnicking.
Originally the site of various mining activities over the past 150 years, the now Council Reserve is one of Lake Macquarie’s foremost natural bushland parks.
The bushland at Green Point features much native flora and fauna, adding interest to the walk. The flora includes open forests of Spotted Gum, Grey Gum, White Mahogany and Forest Red Gum. There is also remnant Littoral Rainforests. These areas provide habitat for native fauna including the Ring-tail Possum, Squirrel Glider, Powerful Owl and Sea Eagle. All this is easily encountered on the established walking trails throughout the reserve and improved access to the rainforest by a constructed boardwalk to preserve the area for the future.
The main car park is located off The Shores Way, Belmont. From here you can take a short easy walk along the shared pathway, a heritage trail. Take time to read the historic markers along the way giving you insight into former local industries.
Continue on the track until you reach a marker called Geology. Here you will find all the information on the Geology of the site.
Hard Rock Story
The rocky outcrops seen all around Green Point Foreshore Reserve are formed from a layer of sedimentary rock called Conglomerate.
The Cardiff Point headland juts out into the Lake because – like other conglomerate areas around the shores of Lake Macquarie – its harder rock has resisted erosion better than the softer shales, coal seams and tuffs (volcanic ash) of other shoreline areas.
Along the shores of the reserve, weather and wave action slowly release pebbles from the conglomerate to form loose gravelly beaches of smooth round stones, sorting them into even size deposits.
Conglomerate is made of coloured gravel pebbles and sand laid down 250 million years ago when the Lake Macquarie area was a network of river valleys and peat swamps.
The geological structure of the area formed over millions of years as pressure turned gravel to conglomerate, sand to sandstone, and peat to coal.
Quarries
Quarries in the Green Point area have supplied gravel (made from crushed conglomerate) for local road building and other construction work.
The Cardiff Point Gravel Quarry, which operated from the 1970’s until 1995, has now been rehabilitated as landscaped parkland and is now named Sea Eagle Park. 
Another disused quarry near the foreshore has been overtaken by lantana.
The Guilford Quarry operated from the mid 70’s until 2000, and was located immediately north-east of Green Point Foreshore Reserve. It now lies under Green Point Gardens Estate residential area situated at The Park Chase, Valentine.
To log this cache you must send the correct answers for the following questions to the cache owner by email.
Questions
1. What type of Conglomerate can be found on Green Point Foreshore Reserve?
2. There is a formation of rock between the Great Northern Coal seam and the Fassifern Coal Seam. What is this formation called?
3. Up to how many metres of Conglomerate overlies the Great Northern coal seam?
4. Under this, How many metres make up a layer of tuff, conglomerate and mudstone covers the Fassifern coal seam?
Now that you know the Geology of the site, continue around to Sea Eagle Park, the former Cardiff Point Gravel Quarry which has been transformed into a picturesque grassy picnic area with BBQ's and amenities. Observe the quarry walls and see the conglomerate on the site that was mined. From here you can follow the cement pathway or a walking track to the top of the quarry to Sea Eagle Lookout to further inspect the Geology of the site.
The beauty of Green Point Reserve is it provides the walker with several track variations. For a longer walk you can follow the shared pathway to Leichhardt Road and onto Dilkera Avenue via Frederick Street then return along the foreshore track and then back along the shared pathway to the car park.
