IOWA
LIMESTONE
Most of Iowa's rocks are sedimentary like
limestone and dolomite. This does not mean that all rocks were
formed in the same environment Iowa's rock history shows there were
different environments over time. The types of environments include
coral reefs, swampy shorelines, streams and rivers, oceans and
glaciers.
Over the history of the
Earth, Iowa was near the equator and under water in shallow oceans.
During these times, the limestones and dolomites were being formed!
Two types of depositions form limestone and dolomite. Deposition is
the accumulation of sediments in an area over a long time. The two
types of deposition are chemical and physical.
Physical Deposition means that it formed when
seashells, skeletons and sediments were eroded from one spot and
carried to another spot where a new rock would eventually
form.
Chemical deposition means that they
precipitated from the ocean water itself. Even around the world
today, limestone and dolomite are being deposited underwater in
ocean environments, such as off the coast of Florida, but they're
not rocks yet. It will still take thousands of years of pressures
by compaction for the sediments to become rocks.
The Iowa State Capitol is bricked with
Limestone and many porticoes of the building. Both front and back
porticoes have pediments supported by six Corinthian columns each.
Most of the states government buildings have Limestone as part of
their foundation.
In 1974, the Iowa General Assembly determined
that one-half of one percent of the total cost for both the Hoover
and Wallace office buildings would be set aside for artwork to
decorate the structures. As part of this program, the National
Endowment for the Arts and the state shared the costs for this 1979
monument to the west of the Hoover Building. The $14,000 piece is
the work of Iowa City artist Luther Utterback. Five limestone
blocks and a Japanese ginko tree are incorporated into the 116-ton
work.
Four limestone blocks are arranged above the
ground and the fifth stone, a 16-ton block of choice limestone, is
buried six feet below the ground. Mr. Utterback, who did no
polishing or finishing of the stones, commented, "The piece was
produced by the earth."
Five Stones - One Tree
To get credit for this cache send an email
to me for requirements 1-3. Requirement 4 should be posted at the
TIME of your logging the find.
1. How high is each bottom piece of
Limestone?
2. How high is each top piece of
Limestone?
3. On the southern piece of Limestone, what
is the width of each side?
4. Post your picture with the female statue
on the north side of the monument...270 degrees at 0.18 mile from
where you are right now. The Iowa State Capitol is directly across
from this wonderful monument.
Bonus: The most creative picture during the
first three months of this cache being published will win a copy of
the FINAL SCRIPT FOR THE LAST EPISODE TELEVISION SERIES
“ER”...Winner is Lil Ms. GCN as the
FLASHER.
If you enjoyed this Earthcache, please
give it a favorite point...thanks