Salvesenklamm - Schicht für Schicht (DE/EN)

Beforehand: This is an EarthChache. Thus, there are no jars or containers to to find. It is necessary to answer the questions (at the bottom of the text).

Salvesenklamm:
In the northwest of Tarrenz, the Salvesenbach breaks out in a narrow gorge into the Gurgltal valley. At the entrance to the gorge, sintered limestone formations can be found, interesting boulders from different epochs of the earth's history lie in the stream bed. Springs reveal the different permeability of the rock layers, the gorge walls show in some places beautiful folded structures. The gorge is crossed by a bridge at a height of 40 meters.
(Source: www.geozentrum-tirol.at)
Geology

In General:
(Source: http://www.palkan.de) The Alps are a folded mountain range that stretches from the Gulf of Genoa to Vienna. About 175-230 million years ago, on the site of today's Alps, there was a large ocean whose bottom consisted of rocks, granite, gneiss and slate. Over millions of years, limestone and clay layers were deposited on the ocean floor, piling up into rock packages several thousand meters high. Due to earthquakes, layers of earth piled up between the African Plate and the European Plate, which became the Alps as a result of plate movements. The formation resulted in the division of the Alps into the Central Alps, the Northern Limestone Alps and the Southern Limestone Alps. Today, the Alps still grow by 1-2 mm every year.
During the Ice Age, glacial streams formed valleys and passes. Deep valley lakes such as Lake Constance and Lake Geneva formed on the northern and southern edges of the Alps. The once mighty glaciers have receded and now cover only the inner and highest parts of the Alps. The retreat of the glaciers is probably an effect of global warming.

A branch of the Inntal glacier formed the Gurgltal valley. When it melted, the valley filled with water, leaving behind a huge lake. The water level of the lake was about as high as the church spire of Imst. The further melting of the glaciers opened the way for the water through today's Inn valley. What remained was the broadly carved Gurgltal as we know it today.

The "Salvesen-Gorge" was formed by the stream of the same name, the "Salvesenbach". It lies above Tarrenz and is shrouded in legend. More about this later. The accessible part is about 0,75 miles (1,2 km) long. The circular hiking trail extends over 2,2 miles (3,5 km). The gorge has been formed for about 10-12 thousand years.

I use the present tense on purpose, because the process hasn't finished yet. So since the last ice age, countless streams have been digging their way through the rock of the Alps. So also the Salvesenbach. It is fed by many springs that receive their water from precipitation, snowmelt water and the remains of glaciers on the backward Alpjoch. In millennia of painstaking work, 3-4mm/year, the water has milled its way into the limestone sinter and the Wetterstein dolomite. The striking feature of this stone is its light color, almost white. This is due to the fact that Wetterstein dolomite largely has no fossil traces.
In contrast to the Rosengarten Gorge, where the path runs mainly along the bed of the stream, in this gorge the stratifications of the former seabed can be seen, as the entire path runs at a height of about 40-50m above the stream bed:




Three interesting observations can be made about the strata that were formed 175-230 million years ago, when the area was the bottom of the "Mediterranean Sea". On the one hand, there are small-scale foldings:

These were formed, among other things, beginning with interglacial outwashings and cavities created from them. In the following ice ages, enormous pressure was exerted on the subsoil by the overlying glaciers, which compressed the earth underneath again. The result of this is the folded structures that are now visible. These structures can thus only be found in a smaller area.

Directly next to it, therefore, one finds the straight, unfolded stratifications:

Here, therefore, there were no washouts below the layers from the prehistoric period. What can be observed here, however, are the fractures of the layers. These were formed during the folding of the Alps by the pressure of the African plate on the European plate:


The third interesting phenomenon are the washouts in the upper part of the gorge, where the stream course is several 10m lower:

These were created at a time when the stream course was at this level.
Since, in contrast to the Rosengarten Gorge, we do not walk along the course of the stream here but a good bit above it, these formations are particularly easy to see.

Now to the peculiarity of the area around Tarrenz. Witches are said to have wreaked havoc here in earlier times. Thus, Tarrenz is still today from the surrounding villages and towns known as a witch place. The village itself takes care to maintain this reputation. A newly built playground down in the Gurgltal was unmistakably built on the theme of witches. Lovingly carved witches, black cats, ravens and much more can be found on and around the crooked little houses with crooked chimneys. The entrance is also guarded by a witch. Children can get a witch's passport at the tourist information office and solve riddles at information boards on a part of the Salvesenklamm circular trail and read stories and legends about witchcraft, dwarves and giants. The legend of the giant Jordan and the beautiful girl Hitte-Hatte is highly recommended. The many carnival guilds are another indication of the mystical past of the area. At this point, of course, the witch oven (Cache Station 4) should be mentioned:

This large sintered limestone protrudes prominently from the ground. Below is a larger cavity, which certainly served in the Stone Age as a fireplace protected from rain. The stone itself has another large opening a bit further up, whose soot-coated surface suggests that fires are still regularly made here today to celebrate scary nights with children or other festivities.


The trail is good to hike in 60-90 minutes. The height difference is not very large and so the Earthcache is good to do even with children.
The pictures (tip: print out beforehand) show the places to be found. The order does not matter. If you don't want to search, you can use the coordinates of the searched places for the waypoints.

In winter, the path is not passable and therefore the cache can not be made. Information on this can be obtained at the info office Tarrenz or Imst.

To increase the incentive for children, you can get a free "witch passport" at the tourist information office in Imst or Tarrenz. A section of the trail is equipped with child-friendly information and question boards, the solutions of which are entered in the passport. At the end you receive a solution word with which you can pick up a small prize at the info office.

The Cache:

Task 1: Go to Station 1 (Waypoint R1). From here you can see a prominent stratification on the opposite side of the canyon. Describe it and explain how it came to this appearance.

Task 2: Estimate the height of the washout above the present stream at Station 2 (Waypoint R2), which is clearly visible. Using the description above, calculate how many years ago the stream ran at this level.

Task 3: Go to Station 3 (Waypoint R3). Describe the difference between the stratigraphic formation in northern direction, which is clearly visible from here, and the formation of task 1. Compare on the basis of the different history of formation or acting forces.

Task 4: (additional task, no log condition) Does the witch's oven (Hexenofen - Station 4, Waypoint R4) have a second opening on the back to make a fire?

Task 5: Determine the following data:

• What word is written in the middle of the sign "Förderung des Fremdenverkehrs-Forst", which is placed at the High Bridge (blue capital letters)? (Solution: AAAAA)
• What is the penultimate word of the legend of "Hitte-Hatte und der Riese Jordan" on panel 14 of the bewitched children's path? (Solution: BBBB)
• When was the bridge shown in the following picture built? (Solution: CCCC)

Send an e-mail with the solutions of the tasks 1-3 or 4 to the address: AAAAA-BBBB-CCCC@rolx.de

If the address is correct, you will receive an automatic reply. This contains the password that is necessary for logging. You can then make the log entry at the cache. If the answers in the e-mail are correct, the entry remains. Pictures of the Salvesenklamm are of course welcome.

Have fun in the Salvesenklamm.

This cache is also listed on geochaching.com (GC4CMC7).