GC53W87 Gotta See It To Believe It (Earthcache) in Queensland, Australia created by jimulligan

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Geocaching HQ Admin: It has now been over 30 days since Geocaching HQ submitted the disabled log below and, unfortunately, the cache owner has not posted an Owner maintenance log and re-enabled this geocache. As a result, we are now archiving this cache page.

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GC53W87 ▼

A cache by jimulligan Message this owner

Hidden : 5/1/2014

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Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

The cache is named Gotta See It To Believe It because that is how we describe it as well as so many people we have talked to while visiting

Lawn Hill gorge was once under a shallow sea with layers of sandstones being laid down over time.
When undertaking some of the walks you can see out crops full of finely bedded sandstones. Within
the some of these outcrops there is also evidence preserved within the rock that when the rock was
laid down it was underwater. The gorge has formed over millions of years by being slowly eroded by
the Lawn Hill Creek.

The creek flows all year round as it is fed from springs which themselves are fed from an
underground river system. This river flows from the west through massive porous limestone
deposits, dissolving and absorbing calcium and other minerals along the way. The region
surrounding Lawn Hill gorge consists of harder sandstones extending well into the subsoil region.
When the waters flowing from west through the porous limestone reach the region they are blocked
from further travel by these harder, non-porous, rock formations. This forces the water to seep out
and feed Lawn Hill creek as well being a substantial source of water for the Gregory river. In total
approximately 5 cubic meters of water is forced out of the springs every second!

To give get an idea of the high level of dissolved minerals and calcium present in the water you can
boil some in a billy or kettle. You will see a very large amount precipitate out, about 80mg-90mg per
litre. The water is quite safe to drink despite this.

The high calcium/mineral content of the water also helps to form several geological features of the
gorge. These include the fascinating stalactite like formations at Indarri falls as well at the Tufa
deposits that can be found throughout the gorge.

The creek also supports a variety of fish and turtles. In the late 1990’s they re-discovered the gulf
snapping turtle living in Lawn Hill Creek that was thought to have been extinct. Fossils had been
discovered at Riversleigh and described in 1994. No living specimens had been found prior to the
late 1990’s (described in a 1997 paper) because they had been using squid and fish to try and
capture this turtle but a change of bait to banana they were able to capture the vegetarian gulf
snapping turtle. In the Lawn Hill creek systems the most healthy and largest population is currently
known to be living.

The Waanyi people have lived here for what is believed to be 30 000years they call the area
Boodjamulla after the Giant Rainbow Serpent that was thought to have created the gorge and the
surrounding areas. The belief of the Waanyi people is that the Boodjamulla controls the water, if you
upset the Boodjamulla it will stop the water they have many ways of honouring the Boodjamulla and
to ways to also appease the Great Rainbow Serpent. The Waanyi people allow you to take a glimpse
into their history of living in Boodjamulla by taking a walk along the Wild Dog Dreaming track. Along
this track you are able to view rock paintings, carvings and other significant areas. If you do this walk
please respect the wishes of the Waanyi people and do not take photos at these areas of cultural
significance.

To log this cache we would like you to answer a few questions about the area and its geology.

Q1. What is the evidence that the gorge was once under the sea? See if you can find the formations,
they are present on two of the walks.

Q2. What is Tufa and how do you think it is formed?

Q3. How many individual (larger) water flows make up Indarri falls?

Please send the answers to the questions in a message rather than posting them in the logs. Thanks :)

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Gotta See It To Believe It EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

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