Offaly geography students enjoy survey on Clare's Fanore beach

THE  Tullamore College  Leaving Cert Geography class of 2023 visited  Fanore  Beach in the  Burren, Co. Clare last Wednesday to complete  their  field study as part of the  Leaving  Cert course.

The field study  accounts for 20% of the marks allocated in the final examination. This year  the students are studying  the role played by the geomorphic processes of coastal transportation and deposition on the formation of the beach at  Fanore, Co. Clare.   

The students  had an early start as the bus departed the school at 8am.  The  last leg of  their journey  allowed  them  the  opportunity to see another aspect of physical geography that  they  have studied as part of  the  course;  the fabulous karst landscape of the  Burren. 

They  saw  a number  of  erratics  lying on the limestone pavement which  helped  them to  see how the landscape has been influenced by glaciation and weathering.

As  they  passed by Black Head  Lighthouse, the scenery was beautiful, and the clear morning ensured  they  could look across Galway Bay and see Galway City in the distance. 

On arrival  at  Fanore  Beach,  they  carried out  a number of  activities to gather  their  results.  Students studied the nature and frequency  of waves during low tide and their  effects  on the  coastal  processes of transportation and deposition. 

They  also noted the variety of materials on the beach  through the use of  quadrats  which  provided a random sampling and  calipers  to help categorise these materials according to their size and shape. 

They  also carried out a beach profile to measure the slope of the beach. This helped provide  them  with evidence of the beach features which have formed  there.   

Once  they  had all  their results gathered,  they  got  their  group photo to store in the memory bank for years to come. No trip  to the beach  could be complete without a well-earned treat at  Supermacs  on the way home. 

While  grumbling about the  October  weather  was a surprise to some, the Leaving Cert Geography class of 2023  thoroughly enjoyed their trip.  They  begin the write up of  their  study in the coming months.