Kettle Hole - Loch Morlich Earthcache EarthCache
Kettle Hole - Loch Morlich Earthcache
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Loch Morlich, in the heart of the Glenmore Forest Park, is one of the most beautiful areas in the Cairngorm National Park. The cache coordinates are on the beach of the loch in a public car park with stunning views into the Northern Corries of Cairngorm.
About 10,000 years ago, a huge glacier covered this area. A large stagnant block of ice became buried under glacial debris carried down from the mountain tops that are now visible. As the glacier melted, it left a depression in the landscape that filled up with water - this is the present Loch Morlich.
Traditionally, Kettle Holes are isolated bodies of water with no inflow or outflow of water. However, it is difficult to imagine this happening here, as such a lot of water flows down out of the classic glacial "armchair" corries formed on the edge of the sub arctic Cairngorm plateau. Kettle Holes are thought to have been formed when blocks of ice became separated from the main glacier. This may have been possible if the ice front stagnated or the blocks could have been washed out during a glacial flood or "jökulhaup". A jökulhaup is an Icelandic term used to describe a glacial outburst flood resulting from the failure of a glacier ice dam, glacier sediment dam, or from the melting of glacier ice by a volcanic eruption. These formations can be seen actively forming in present day Iceland, giving us vital clues as to glacial formation thousands of years ago.
To claim this cache, you need to do two things:
1) Post a photo of you and / or your GPS at the coordinates with the Northern Corries behind you. Put this in your online log - do not email the cacheowner with the pic! Don't forget to hold your GPSr in plain view.
2) I also need you to find the name of the cold period that occurred towards the end of the last (Devensian) glacial stage in Scotland. This is connected with the name of a very famous loch further south and west from here. Its very bonnie there. Do not post this information here - rather you should send it to me via my profile before I give permission to claim the cache. This info is not shown on the boards at the lochside
If I do not receive the answer and/or a photo is not posted, you may have your log deleted..... Educational guidelines for Earthcaches are set by Geocaching.com and GeoSociety.org (Earthcache) and have to be adhered to.
Please note: I no longer cache actively, but have kept these caches (Earth and Virtuals) for the enjoyment of those who do. I may not reply, therefore, to your email. If you are really looking for a reply, please don't log this cache.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)