Parking is available on the road next to GZ (14 Street). You cannot access this Earthcache from the highway, and please don't even think about pulling up on the bridge! You can access 14 Street further along the road from the Ritz Carlton.
This is an Earthcache, and obviously that means there isn't an actual container here so please don't look for one. Instead please read the information below, visit the area and try and answer the questions at the bottom of the page. Please try not to touch and further damage the erosion - nature doesn't need any help with this!
Despite the 'no fishing' signs you may find there are fishermen not far from the cache, usually on the other side of the bridge.
Below are some definitions to assist:
CLIFFS
In geography and geology, a cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually formed by rock that is resistant to erosion and weathering. Sedimentary rocks most likely to form cliffs include sandstone, limestone, chalk, and dolomite. Igneous rocks such as granite and basalt also often form cliffs.
CAVES
A cave or cavern is a hollow place in the ground, especially a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. Caves form naturally by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word cave can also refer to much smaller openings such as sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos.
A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relict sea caves on former coastlines.
LAND BRIDGES
A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonise new lands. A land bridge can be created by marine regression, in which sea levels fall, exposing shallow, previously submerged sections of continental shelf; or when new land is created by plate tectonics; or occasionally when the sea floor rises due to post-glacial rebound after an ice age.
CONGLOMERATE
Conglomerate is a coarse-grained clastic sedimentary rock that is composed of a substantial fraction of rounded to gravel-size 'clasts', e.g., granules, pebbles, cobbles, and boulders, larger than 2 mm in diameter. Conglomerates form by the consolidation and lithification of gravel (i.e. by compacting under pressure). Conglomerates typically contain finer grained sediment, e.g., either sand, silt, clay or combination of them, called matrix by geologists, filling their interstices and are often cemented by calcium carbonate, iron oxide, silica, or hardened clay.
To claim this earthcache as a find please email me via my profile your answers to the following:
1) Estimate the height of the 'cliffs'.
2) How deep would you estimate the caves to be? (No need to 'go in' and measure! Just an estimate please)
3) What is causing the coastal erosion here and why have mini cliffs/caves formed?
4) Nearby you should be able to find conglomerate rocks not attached to the cliffs/caves. Please can you describe the look and texture? (If you can't find any loose conglomerate rocks please describe another rock type you can find nearby).
5) There are many boulders at GZ. Are these here naturally or have they been placed here, and why?
6) You should find some rocks/cliffs that have very obvious layers to them. Please describe the various layers and estimate the thickness of each layer. (There is an excellent example of rock layers a short distance from GZ in the direction away from the bridge).
Please don't worry if you can't answer all the questions - just give it your best shot! Feel free to log as soon as you email - no need to wait for a response.
A photograph taken at GZ would be appreciated, but is not required. Why not visit with a toy or action figure and take a to-scale photograph?