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Wadi Mistal is the entrance, or rather the exit, of the Ghubrah
Bowl. On the Google Earth image below, giving a "bird's eye" view
of the bowl, the scale of this natural depression in the Hajar
mountains is well apparent. The mountains surrounding Wadi Mistal
itself (the front part in the picture below) consist of
Pre-Cambrian Diamictites. These are among the oldest sedimentary
rocks on Earth, with a measured age of some 700 million years. They
have been deposited by glaciers (hence the name "diamictites").
Interesting is that Oman, 700 million years ago was at a latitude
of 13º, i.e. closer to the equator than it is today. The presence
of glaciers so near to the equator, of which evidence has been
found in many places on Earth, has led to the theory that at that
time most of the Earth was covered in ice ("snowball Earth"). The
remainder of the mountain ridge surrounding the Bowl are Permian
Carbonates of a much younger age. The Bowl has been formed through
erosion of relatively softer Pre-Cambrian rocks, forming the core
of the Hajar mountains, leaving a ring of more competent mountains
surrounding the bowl. While looking at the Google Earth picture
below, imagine it to be filled up with rock to the same height of
the surrounding mountains. To create the Bowl all that rock has had
to pass through the narrow gorge of Wadi Mistal, which you will
visit when searching for this cache! All those sediments
transported out of the bowl through Wadi Mistal have built up a
much wider coastal plain between Barka and Suwaidi than is the case
in other parts of the Batinah coast.
This cache is part of a series of three. The other two caches
are hidden at the far end of the Ghubrah Bowl. They are:
Hadash
Tower,
GC2F48F
Wuqan,
GC2F48M
While this location can be reached using a regular saloon car,
the other two caches should only be attempted when you have the use
of a 4WD car as the roads within the Bowl are graded dirt tracks
and the ascent to the villages are steep.
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The cache consists of a regular sized lock-n-lock plastic box,
camouflaged by a beige coloured sock, and hidden behind a number of
small rocks (enough of them around!). Please take note that snakes
and scorpions seek out the shade provided by rocks during the
hottest parts of the day. Please take note when handling rocks that
there may be "creepy crawlies" hidden below! Enjoy the hunt!