You don’t have to go into the mountains to see evidence of glaciations. The Thames hasn’t always followed the path it does today. The view of the Thames as seen from this viewpoint is relatively new (geologically speaking). The Thames would not have passed through Goring. It never reached Oxford or London but passed through St Albans and Ipswich. The ancient river is known as proto-Thames.
During the last Ice Age about 110,000 years ago, the glacial advance had the effect of pushing the course of the river gradually southward. As Glacial ice started to melt it caused mass movement of water. The water was blocked by ice sheets and therefore made new “gaps” or valleys through the soft chalk.
Validating your find,
1. Upload a photo of you or your GPS at GZ with goring in the background.
2. Upload a cross section sketch of the Thames at Goring and the surrounding hills. The recommended place is at the top of the hill to the NE of Streatley which is at the coords above.
3. E-mail through my profile why you think the glacier broke through here. Please include with your answer, your caching name (e.g. metal-bijou) and your email address.
Don't worry about waiting for a reply before you log, in the very unlikely event that your answer is wrong I'll let you know so you can revise your answer or turn your smiley to a note.
The most exciting way to learn about the Earth and its processes is to get into the outdoors and experience it first-hand. Visiting an Earthcache is a great outdoor activity the whole family can enjoy. An Earthcache is a special place that people can visit to learn about a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our Earth. Earthcaches include a set of educational notes and the details about where to find the location (latitude and longitude). Visitors to Earthcaches can see how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage the resources and how scientists gather evidence to learn about the Earth. To find out more click HERE.
Kind permission is given by the National Trust to have the above coords as the recommended spot for this earthcache.