The Old Harry Rocks Earthcache EarthCache
The Old Harry Rocks Earthcache
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The walk out to these marvellous chalk stacks is signposted from Studland National Trust car parks. The cliff edges are extremely dangerous, please stay on the main wide paths. Do not attempt with small children, dogs off leads, or in poor weather or poor lighting.
These high chalk cliffs contain stunning promontories, sea stacks and natural arches. They form the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and were once part of a chalk seam that stretched from Purbeck to the Isle of Wight.
The chalk cliff has been eroded over many years by sea, wind, rain, marine organisms, and grinding by sand and pebbles. Erosion initially undercuts the cliff edges to form caves. Caves then grow until an arch forms. Eventually the top of the arch collapses, leaving a stack of chalk cliff isolated from the mainland. These then erode further to become stumps before collapsing completely and being lost into the sea.
All these stages of erosion can be seen at the Old Harry Rocks.
The isolation of the rocks and their steep cliff mean they are colonised by breeding sea birds.
The largest stack is known as No Man’s Land, and the gap between it and the mainland is known as St Lucas’ Leap. The two other large stacks to the south west are known as the Pinnacles.
To log the cache you must complete the following tasks:
1 post a photo of yourself/your GPS at the Old Harry Rocks. (please be careful and stay well away from the cliff edge when doing this)
2 send me an email stating which direction the strata (layers) of chalk are in the Old Harry Rocks.
The chalk itself is soft, white, porous sedimentary limestone. It is composed of the mineral calcite, which is made up of the shells from a vast number of micro-organisms known as coccolithophores. It is common to find flint nodules within the chalk.
There is a remarkable fault in the cliff of Ballard Down to the west of the rocks. This can only be seen from the sea. There are many boat tour trips from Bournemouth and Swanage that will take you to view this famous fault.
There are two myths relating to the name “Old Harry”. One myth is that it refers to the devil who once slept on the rocks. Another myth is that it refers to a famous local pirate Harry Paye, who used to store contraband in nearby caves.
LOGS WHERE NO PHOTO IS UPLOADED, AND NO EMAIL RECEIVED WITHIN 2 WEEKS WILL UNFORTUNATELY BE DELETED
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