Tubber N.S. Geography of our locality

Limestone Pavement n Over the millenia rainwater has acted on the limestone of the Burren region, dissolving it and creating all the hollows, cracks and strange shapes that we see today. n It is the action of water and its movement through the rocks that created the Burren.

Clints & Grikes n n At certain ‘weak’ lines in the limestone the acidic rainwater dissolves small cracks in the rocks and over time wears these away until they form larger cracks in long lines. These are called ‘clints’ and ‘grikes’.

Aillwee Caves n Aillwee Cave is a dried up river cave system n It was discovered in the early 1930’s by a dog chasing rabbits. n Today it is a very popular tourist attraction in Co.Clare.

Lough Bunny n This is the shores of Lough Bunny, a local lake. n The children often go swimming here in summer time. n Lough Bunny is unusual because we do not have many lakes in our locality.

Turlough n A feature very common in our locality is a turlough. n A turlough is a disappearing lake. n It disappears in Summer and reappears in the winter months.

Swallow Hole n This is a swallow hole. n It is where the water disappears underground and flows underground to reappear at a later stage.

Karren n n The action of the rainwater on the surface of the limestone creates Karren – small solutional features like hollows and channels.

Erratic n This is an erratic. n It is a different type of rock to our limestone. n It is called granite. n It was dropped by the ice when the ice started to melt. n It came from another part of the country.

Fossils n Limestone is a rock that was formed under the sea millions of years ago. n It was made by the remains of sea creatures, which died and fell to the bottom of the sea. n Today we can see these creatures as fossils in our stone.

Cliffs of Moher n The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's top Visitor attractions. n The Cliffs of Moher stretch for 8km & rise up to 214 metres above the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare. n The Cliffs of Moher are home to one of the major colonies of cliff nesting seabirds in Ireland.