From this point you get a fantastic view of Edinburgh Castle Rock, now surmounted by Edinburgh Castle. The Castle has seen siege and war, but the geology is even more violent!
The rock was originally a volcano which stood on a wide river plain. When volcanic activity ceased, it was covered by sand and mud. During the Ice Age, the softer sandstone was scraped away by the force of the ice. The hard volcanic rock stood firm against the pressure of the ice, which gouged out hollows on either side of the rock. One of these hollows became the Nor Loch, now drained to form Princes Street gardens where you are standing. The Grassmarket on the south side of the Rock forms the other side.
Please note that the Gardens are open as follows:
January - February: 7:00 - 17:00
March - April: 7:00 - 19:00
May - June: 7:00 - 20:00
July - August: 7:00 - 22:00
September - October: 7:00 - 19:00
November - December: 7:00 - 17:00
To claim this earthcache, please send me answers to the following questions. Most of the answers can be found on the panel and at GZ. If they are not received your log will be deleted. Please email me, then log the cache. I will contact you if there is a problem with your answers.
Please note that I only accept the information from the information panel and NOT from Wikipedia which has different answers
- Which three things shaped the landsape that you see before you?
- How long ago was the volcano erupting?
- When were the streams in the Nor Loch dammed, and when was the loch drained?
- Look towards the south-east - to the left of the Castle Rock. Describe what you see and how the Castle Rock and glacier have formed this feature.
5) (optional) Post a photo of yourself or your GPSr at GZ.
This cache was part of the Edinburgh Earthcache weekend and geocoins are available here