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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