Loch Flemington Kettle Hole EarthCache
Loch Flemington Kettle Hole
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Loch Flemmington extends to 14 ha (34.6 acres) and formed in a kettle-hole - a feature created as a result of the last glaciation. The loch has no obvious outlet and supports a largely undisturbed aquatic plant community associated with eutrophic (nutrient-enriched) conditions, including diverse submerged and emergent vegetation together with sedge fen. The loch supports a nationally-important breeding population of Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus which brought its designation as a Special Protection Area (SPA) in 1997. The SPA extends to 21 ha (51.9 acres) and forms part of the Kildrummie Kames Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Loch Flemington is a good example of a Kettle Hole Loch. The definition of a Kettle Hole is a hollow created when buried blocks of glacier ice melt out. The name derives from an old meaning of 'kettle', as in a deep iron basin for heating water over a fire. A 'kettle drum' has a similar derivation.
A kettle hole is formed by blocks of ice that are separated from the main glacier - perhaps the ice front stagnated or retreated or perhaps ice blocks were washed out from the glacier during a glacier flood. If conditions are right, the isolated blocks of ice then become partially or wholly buried in outwash. When the ice blocks eventually melt they leave behind holes or depressions that fill with water to become kettle hole lakes. In Scotland, they may be preserved as isolated small lochs such as here at Loch Flemington.
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To claim this earthcache, please send the answers to the questions below to us by email / message centre - do not post in your online log.Your log may be deleted if this criteria is not met. Educational guidelines for Earthcaches are set by Geocaching.com and GeoSociety.org (Earthcache) and have to be adhered to.
1 ) What do you think supplies the loch to keep it filled? (ex: rain/runoff, streams or the water table)
2 ) Do you think the water level of this kettle fluctuates very much during the year? Look at the shoreline for evidence of water lines (dried mineral deposits) on rocks or other debris.
3 ) What does the kettle's edge look like: sandy, muddy, rocky?
While not compulsory it is always good to see photos of your visit and please be careful near water
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