After keeping people safe in the outdoors, one of the things no-mad Adventures pride ourselves on is knowledge and being able to explain the amazing landscape that we move through.
Every now and then we get leaders and other local enthusiasts together and then, we increase our knowledge.
On this occasion, on the 19th March a small group of us met at the Minffordd carpark and started the steep haul up ‘those’ steps, however it was a walk with a difference. Led by the incredibly knowledgeable Andy Schlereth, we were to be captivated by story of Cadair Idris from 4600 million years ago to the relatively recent, 15,000 years ago.
He pointed out subglacial till (from the underneath of the glacier), rounded rocks that showed the direction of the glacier movement, terminal moraines that showed the extent of the glacier, striations, glacial erratics, pyroclastic spoil, lava pillows ……. Maaan, the world was a ferocious heaving ball of forces and energies! We were captivated by the mystery of the most recent glacial event, the ‘Younger Dryas’, and how it left evidence of its existence by Llyn Cau.
Andy took us on a timeline of tumultuous events as we travelled through the landscape, made all the more real by us being able to see, touch and understand why and how Cadair and Mynydd Moel came to be. Brilliant day out - If only geography had been like this at school!
A huge thanks to Andy, and some great feedback from Annie, Martin, Helen and Rob. 1. Geological Map of North Wales
2. Striations on a moraine
3. Pillow lava
4. Glacial erratic
