Geological and environmental learning centres in At the Burren learning centres take the opportunity to meet the people who live and work in the Burren – guides, outdoor activity instructors, cavers, park rangers, farmers, environmental enthusiasts and educators. There are a variety of learning activities and programmes available at each of the Burren learning centres – for all ages and all levels of interest. A C E Burren National Park Burren Outdoor Learn from the farmer about the traditional farming methods of the Burren on a Burren National Park Visitor Experience Education Centre National Parks and Wildlife Service guided Farm Heritage Tour. Explore with a local ranger how the Cliffs of Moher were Cliffs of Moher Turlough, Bell Harbour Francis Street, Ennis Co. Clare Co. Clare formed and identify the numerous birds that call these cliffs home. Go on a guided Co. Clare Tel. +353 (0)65 7086141 Tel. +00 353 (0) 65 707 8066 walk, attend an illustrated talk or partake in any of the numerous educational activities Tel: + 00 353 (0) 65 682 2694 [email protected] [email protected] www.burrennationalpark.ie offered by the Burrenbeo Trust. Interpret the unique habitats of the Burren National www.cliffsofmoher.ie www.burrenoec.com Stone, Water and Ice Park in fun and novel ways with the Park Ranger. Get our there and be active with an expert from the Burren Outdoor Education Centre, learning through activities such as Second Edition Published by caving, kayaking or rock climbing. Challenge yourself with an educational quest in the The Burren Connect Project, captivating exhibition at the Burren Centre . Clare County Council, Ennistymon, . Design: OpticNerve.ie Project & Partner Websites Sources of Map Data: The following are the local partner organisations who helped develop the NEED project: Ordnance Survey Ireland data reproduced under OSi License number 2010/04/CCMA/Clare County NEED Project: Burrenbeo Trust Ltd: Council. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Ordnance www.geoneed.org www.burrenbeo.ie Survey Ireland and Government of Ireland copyright. Burren Connect Project: Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience: © Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2010 www.burrenconnect.ie www.cliffsofmoher.ie B D F © Geological Survey Ireland Bedrock Data Copyright © 2010 Burren Connect Project. All rights reserved. Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark Project: County Clare Farm Heritage Tours Co-op: Clare Farm Heritage Burrenbeo Trust Ltd. The Burren Centre No part of this publication may be reproduced or www.burrengeopark.ie www.farmheritagetours.com Tours Co-op Kinvara Kilfernora Co. Galway Co. Clare transmitted, in any form or by any means, or stored Burren National Park: Geological Survey of Ireland: c/o Michael Cusack Centre, in any retrieval system of any nature without prior www.burrennationalpark.ie www.gsi.ie Carron, Co. Clare Tel: +00 353 (0) 91 638096 Tel. + 00 353 (0) 65 708 8030 permission of the authors and publishers. Burren Outdoor Education Centre: The Burren Centre: Tel. + 353 (0)65 7089944 [email protected] [email protected] www.burrenoec.com www.theburrencentre.ie www.farmheritagetours.com www.burrenbeo.com www.theburrencentre.ie

The Northern Environmental Education Development (NEED) project is a transnational cooperation project between Ireland, Finland, Stone, Water and Keep an eye out Norway and Iceland and is a part of the Northern Ice – A Geology for the Stone, Periphery Programme 2007–2013. Trip through Water and Ice For more information visit the NEED website: the Burren Information www.GeoNeed.org Stone, Water This handy Panels located at For information on the Burren & Cliffs of Moher and Ice – The Geopark Project – visit: www.burrengeopark.ie A5 size books gives an visitor centres Geology of the The NEED Project Ireland is coordinated by: introduction to the fascinating story and learning Burren Region is Burren Connect Project, of the Burren landscape. The origin environments Clare County Council an A4 sized scientific Stone, Water and Ice – Teachers’ Ennistymon Area Offices, and unique geology of the Burren throughout the review of the widely Information Booklet provides a Ennistymon, is presented using a variety of maps, Burren. Co. Clare, Ireland researched and fascinating geology variety of educational tasks and illustrations and photographs. It www.burrenconnect.ie of the Burren region. This review activities that focus on understanding introduces nine locations (geosites) provides detailed information on many interesting aspects of the in the Burren, where characteristic topics such as palaeogeography, landscape and geology of the Burren. features of the landscape may be lithology, palaeontology, The booklet includes illustrated observed, and how the Burren is a information sheets, colourful maps, geomorphology, and the occurrence Z-CARD™ (trademarks used by Z industries Ltd under license). This product is a doubly-folded sheet card. These landscape moulded and shaped by products and associated machinery and processes are subject to UK, European and Worldwide patents granted and and student work sheets for a variety pending, copyright, trade marks and other intellectual property rights including European patent number EPO of mineral resources in the region. 0288472. © 1998 Z Industries Ltd. Produced under license by Z-CARD™ EUROPE, 3rd Floor, 7-11 St. John’s Hill, stone, water and ice. London, SW11 1TN. Tel: 0171-924 5147 Fax: 0171-924 5149. of learning activities. Distributed by Z-Card™ UK & Ireland Tel: 0171 924 5147. No. 000000/00 N18 Galway Geosites of THEKilcogan BURREN Ballinderreen

N18 Key 1 Geosites N67 ack Hea New Quay Ardrahan A Learning Centres 1 Bl d 1

Burren Information Point Flaggy Shore Murrooghtoohy R347 Strewn with rocks from far away places, this N67 D Visitor Centre / Attraction Dunguaire shoreline provides several clues to the movement Gleninagh Castle Burrenbeo Castle Centre Viewing Point Bell Harbour Kinvarra of ancient ice sheets across the Burren C Burren ah Béal an Chloga Monument landscape. Pink coloured granite rocks from er House 9 V 2 a Connemara to the north and purple sandstone l Oughtmama The Burren Way le Ballyvaghan Poulnabrone R477 y Churches rocks from the Slieve Aughty Mountains to the Visitor Centre Ballyvaghan Pause for a while at Ireland’s most ancient and The Mid-Clare Way east; share the shoreline with the native grey iconic archaeological monument. For almost Fanore Rock Types limestone rocks of the Burren. E Burren Outdoor 6,000 years, Poulnabrone portal tomb, built Baliny AnRath Education Centre Coole Park The smooth limestone pavement of the upper e by the local Burren community of that time, Siltstone & Sandstone eserv Visitor Centre e R shore is embedded with the fossils of creatures Cahermore ur has stood proud within this rocky landscape. Shale Crumlin at N that lived here 330 million years ago, while the N67 n Look closely at the rocks that surround you Ballyallaban a Limestone brown coloured, pitted, deep creviced limestone rr and discover the fossils of the marine creatures Gragan a C Kilmacduagh N66 (biokarst) of the lower shore is being carved by e that lived in the warm, shallow, tropical sea v Gort e i living marine organisms. 9 l that covered this area approximately 345-326 S million years ago - before dinosaurs, flowering Poulnabrone Templecronan Church Cave Fahee plants or man had even evolved. Visitor Centre Craggycorradane Caherconnell Fort North R477 Burren Visitor Centre R460 8 Perfumery Boston Carran k R479 e Burren r Michael a Smokehouse 5 Church P Lough R476 Cusack l a Centre n Bunny Noughaval R480 io 2 at Doolin B N 3 ren 7 Fanore Beach Bur R478 N67 A Tubber Golden sand dunes, storm beaches of boulders F Kilfenora 6 Cathedral Leamaneh R462 stacked together by powerful waves, rocks e Burren Centre C Castle R460 rich in ancient marine fossils and smooth lime Kilshanny Kilfenora r e Cliffs of Moher R476 encrusted stones in the river bed of the Caher h R481 4 o Visitor Experience N18 river – the only surface river in the northern M Killinaboy Church f o Burren, are all to be discovered at Fanore s Killinaboy ff li Beach. Together with its diversity of flora, C X-PO Killinaboy birdlife, butterflies and moths – and evidence of R478 Ballinruan 8 prehistoric hunters-gatherers living amongst the Corro n Moher Liscannor Carran Turlough dunes, it is easy to understand why this beach is Corrofin Lehinch N85 Corrofin Walk the quiet roads of the Carron Polje - the a Special Area of Conservation. Ennistimon Heritage Genealogical Crusheen Centre Centre largest karst depression in northwest Europe. Ruan This large hollow can be filled, very quickly, with a seasonal lake (Carron Turlough) when Moyhill Dromore Wood rainfall is high and groundwater wells up R460 Nature Reserve Dysert through underground springs. As the season O’Dea dries it can empty just as quickly, as the water drains underground through subterranean N67 N85 R476 Bare eld channels and swallow holes. 4 Explore the Carron Loop Walking trail over Inagh 3 The Cliffs of Moher R460 Termon Mountain, with its fantastic views 6 Kilnamona Imagine the time taken to create the mighty and across the Carron Turlough, and visit the Doolin Pier R482 5 formidable Cliffs of Moher. The sand, silt and Burren National Park 7 historical monuments of Termon Cross, Temple Experience the full force of the power of the Spanish Milltown mud layersPoint of the cliff face tell us about the local Lisdoonvarna Spa Wells Follow the Green Arrow Nature Trail andN85 the Lough Bunny Cronin Medieval Church and St Fachtnan’s Atlantic Ocean, as it crashes into theland, and Malbay R352 environment that existed over 300 million years Lisdoonvarna (Lios Dúin Bhearna, meaning longer Green, Red and Blue Walking Routes to Holy Well. see the massive limestone blocks that have been Explore the shoreline of this mysterious lake – ago when they were laid down in an ancient the Fort of the Gap) is set within a landscape view limestone pavement, calcareous grassland, ENNIS thrown up onto the shoreline. where no streams flow in or out. Seek out the river delta. Stand on the cliff top and experience of steep shale hills, interspersed with the deep hazel scrub, woodland, turloughs, lakes, unique karst limestoneR469 features of freshwater If you would like to learn Imagine the great ice sheets that moved across the powerful energy of the Atlantic Ocean’s gorges of the Aille, Gowlaun and KilmoonConnolly petrifying springs, cliffs and fen. Your journey lakes such as the peculiar egg-box shaped more about the landscape and this land between 25,000 and 12,000 years ago, windQuilty and weather which has carved those layers R474rivers. Where the upper shale layer meets the of discoveryKilmaley will lead you towards the folded N67 to Killimer R474 solution N18hollows. to Limerick Here you & Shannon stand between geology of the Burren, visit one plucking rocks and boulders from the landscape, of sand, silt and mud into cliffs. Examine the underlying limestone a number of mineral limestone layers of Mullaghmore - a mountain the ancient limestone pavements of the Gort of the many Burren Learning carrying them along and then dropping them as fossil trails in the flagstones and picture the springs rich in sulphur, iron, magnesium and buckled and warped by ancient movements of lowlands which extend eastwards towards the Centres located in the Burren. the weather warmed and the ice melted. Spot unidentified, wormlike creature that made them calcium emerge, providing Lisdoonvarna the Earth’s crust. Slieve Aughty mountains and the younger See reverse side these huge glacial erratics scattered around the as it moved across the soft sediments over 300 with the health-giving water that has attracted limestone hills which rise up to the west. for more information. fields of the Burren. million years ago before they were hardened visitors to the town for over 150 years. into rock.