SideTracked EarthCache - Euston Station Geology EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

Pan314159: The benches have gone, so this EarthCache is no more.

Thank you everyone who visited this cache.
I really enjoyed owning it and seeing your emails; I hope you enjoyed the cache.

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Hidden : 12/4/2014
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

A Traveler's EarthCache at Euston Station.

About SideTracked Caches


This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website.


About EarthCaches


An EarthCache is a special geological location people can visit to learn about a unique feature of the Earth. Visitors to EarthCaches can see how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage its resources and how scientists gather evidence. More Information can be found at the EarthCache Website.


About SideTracked - Euston


Euston was the first intercity railway station in London, opened on 20 July 1837. The original station was built by William Cubitt and was designed by the classically trained architect Philip Hardwick. The station grew rapidly as traffic increased. It was greatly expanded with the opening in 1849 of the Great Hall, designed by Hardwick's son Philip Charles Hardwick in classical style.

As traffic grew, the station required further expansion. Two platforms were added in the 1870s with new service roads and entrances, and four in the 1890s, bringing the total to 15, one of them for parcels traffic. Few relics of the old station survive, but you can still see the lodges on Euston Road and statues now on the forecourt.

The station now has 18 platforms, and Euston is the sixth-busiest terminus in London by entries and exits.


A Traveler's Earthcache


In the outdoor public square of Euston Station, you will find a sculpure called:

Time Benches (1990) by Paul de Monchaux

One of the more subversive and enjoyable features of public art is the complete absence of ‘DO NOT TOUCH’ signs. In fact, some public artworks even invite human participation and use, as with Paul de Monchaux’s four ‘Time Benches’ at Euston Station.

Each of the four benches is fashioned from a different type of stone. These works invite the urban commuter to pause in their travels and to reflect on the material objects, so frequently ignored, that constitute their ever-changing cityscape.

Together these benches allow the curious commuter to compare the types of stone and to look for fossils while waiting for their train. They show a fascinating journey through the geological ages of our planet Earth:

(Not necessarily in order, see log instructions below)

The Triassic Period
This red stone comes from the first period of the Mesozoic Era. Both the start and end of the Triassic period are marked by major extinction events. Sandstone (sometimes known as arenite) is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.

The Carboniferous Period
This grey stone comes from a time that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, to the beginning of the Permian Period. The Carboniferous was a time of active mountain-building, as the supercontinent Pangaea came together.

The Ordovician Period
This dark-coloured stone is from the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. It follows the Cambrian period and is followed by the Silurian period. Recognition of the distinct Ordovician period was slow in the United Kingdom, but other areas of the world accepted it quickly. Life continued to flourish during the Ordovician as it did in the Cambrian, although the end of the period was marked by a significant mass extinction.

The Jurassic Period
This extremely interesting grey stone comes from a time period before the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic Period gets its name from the Jura Mountains of the Alps where strata from the period were first identified. By the beginning of the Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea had begun drifting into two landmasses, Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south. The Jurassic geological record is good in Western Europe, where extensive marine sequences indicate a time when much of the continent was submerged under shallow tropical seas; famous locales include the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, UK.


To log the Earthcache


To log this cache, you need to find out the following info:

1. What four types of stone are the benches made of?
2. What are the ages of the four types of stone?
3. One of the benches is covered in fossils. Find a fossil. What do you think it might be?
4. Measure (or estimate) how long the fossil is.
5. Logging a photo of yourselves on one of the benches, and/or a photo of the fossil you found and measured, would be great (but is optional).

Then, send me the answers by message or email through my geocaching profile either by clicking my name at the top of this cache description, or by clicking my name below:
Pan314159.
In the message, please write the name and GC number of this geocache, and which date you visited and logged it.

That’s all you have to do. I hope this geocache was an enjoyable break in your journey.
You do not need to wait for a reply. Log the cache as soon as you have sent the message, and I will get in touch. :)

Please do not give away any of the required information on either your logs or photos.

ANY ARMCHAIR LOGS WILL BE DELETED. TO LOG THIS GEOCACHE YOU MUST VISIT IT.

After you have logged this cache, if you would like to, there is a small profile image souvenir that you can add to your profile:

To add it to your profile, just go to your Account Settings on the Geocaching.com website (the cog icon on the top right), go to section called "Profile Information", copy and paste the following HTML text into the section at the bottom called "Bio", then click "Save Changes".

<a href="http://coord.info/GC5HDPY"><img src="http://d1u1p2xjjiahg3.cloudfront.net/42187c46-df85-464f-adc6-a92711c8c506.jpg" title="I Logged The First SideTracked EarthCache!" /></a>

Thank you for logging my cache!

Congratulations to Pja_cz for the FTF!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ybbx qbja nebhaq gur orapurf

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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