Geology


Many years ago during the ice age, the ice started to melt and that caused an avalanche, then the blocks of ice started to move down the hill and bring some rocks along with them. while it moved forward it shaped the landscape and now there is glacial erratics dropped by icebergs .Glacial erratics are piece of rock that are all different sizes and type. There are lots of glacial erratics in the Burren.

Limestone

Limestone is the predominant  rock found in the Burren. Limestone was formed by the continual compression of layers and layers of shellfish and other debris over thousands of years.
The clints and grikes were  formed by the glacial erosion which took all the possible soil away, leaving only the Karst limestone behind.
The clints are the chunks of limestone and the grikes are the gaps in between.
All of the walls are made from limestone. Limestone can shatter easily. As limestone has calcite in it and is easily broken down  by the acid found in rainwater.

Turloughs

A turloughs is a grassy hollow, it can be quite big, when it rains for a long time it will fill with water through a subterranean passage and it empties the same way.

Fossils

Fossils are the preserved remains of animals and plants thousands of years ago. There are hundreds of fossils in the burren. There are two different types of fossils , vertebrate which are from animals who had bones and , invertebrate which are from animals without bones or plants. When an animal or plant leaves a shape in a rock it's called a mould. When the animal or plant dies it eventually finds it's way in water and is then covered by silt and the layers of the silt press down on the animal on to the rock and it leaves a mould called a fossil.

Caves

Caves are formed by underground streams and rivers. Over thousands of years the water erodes away at the rock and forms a cave.
Stalactites
Stalactites hang from the roof of the cave. Stalactites are formed by the water that drips  from the roof of the cave,the water has a bit of calcite in it and when it drips it leaves behind some calcite. Over thousands of years this forms a stalactite.
Stalagmite
Stalagmites stand underneath stalactites. They are formed by the calcite that drops down from the stalactites above them. Stalagmites usually form slower then stalactite.

Ailwee Caves

Ailwee Caves is probably the most well know cave in the Burren and probably the most well know cave in Ireland. Ailwee Caves is a tour cave which means it had some man-made features in it, to make it easier to get around, some of the man-made features in the cave are are railings,lights,paths and sides of the caves are drilled bigger so more people can fit in the cave.

Doolin Cave

Doolin cave is probably the 2nd most famous cave in the Burren .It is famous because it has the biggest stalactite in Europe. Doolin cave is now a tour cave. The people  how found Doolin cave had to go through a really tight spaces to get to the stalactite. But by the time they got there their lights went out so they had to go back another day to find the biggest stalactite in Europe. Now Doolin cave is a tour cave.


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