Can't see the wood for the waves EarthCache
Hidden : 9/9/2017
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

The Western Green, Penzance at one time, many years ago, would have had sand dunes and not the promenade we see today. Mounts Bay would have looked very different to today, with trees and the evidence of human occupation having been found by divers.

As an EarthCache, there is no “box.” You discover something about the geology of the area. For more info about EarthCaches take a look here

A Submerged forest

Offshore surveys of Mounts Bay have found submerged, erosional plains and valleys containing deposits of peat, sand and gravel.
The deposits found indicate cyclical changes - from wetland, to coastal forest, to brackish conditions. All have been occurring over the past 12,000 years as sea levels rose. The resulting waters therefore cover the secrets of what life was like here so many 1000s of years ago... a cycle of rising and falling water levels, boggy areas and forestation.

Either side of Penzance, on the beaches at Ponsandane and Wherrytown, evidence of a submerged forest can be seen at low tide, in the form of several huge, partially fossilised tree trunks. A glimpse of how far into the bay the forest actually reached.



The Western Green (a sand dune system, now under the promenade, where you are standing) was a barrier to the sea. The barrier would have had plants establish and growing along it. An example of how it would have looked can be found at Eastern Green where there are still sand dunes. Storms sometimes destroyed such barriers, depositing sand and gravel over the rich,peat beds (such as can be seen in Marazion Marsh,) and in the foundations of buildings. Along the prom at Wherrytown. after a storm, it's quite common to find that sea weed and kelp on the promenade, brought there by the effects of high waves and wind. The area, once a lush environment, certainly looks very different to present day.

The submerged forest in the intertidal area between Wherrytown and Long Rock is of national importance and is a Cornwall Geology Site.

To log this EarthCache... from the co-ordinates,
Q1 How do we know about the forest, now covered by the waves?
Q2 Why do you think the trees died and how have they become fossilised?
Q3 Explain why you think the area looks so different today?
 Thank you for visiting our earth cache. Please email or message your answer to us. Not necessary to log, but a photo of you with the Mount in the background would be nice.

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