Iowa Farmland Granite Ice Cream Earthcache EarthCache
PathfinderMark: Rest Area is permanently closed, and is being plowed under.
RIP.
Iowa Farmland Granite Ice Cream Earthcache
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This cache is at a rest area. Parking is available for trucks, trailers, RVs, and of course cars. Paved walking path takes you CLOSE to the rock you need to view. Logging req #1-3 are handicap accessible, though #4 is not.
The rock you are looking at is Granite. Granite is not found in the rock layers of Iowa, though granite does exist in the area as erratics, that is as “left overs” left behind by glacial action.
Geology:
One way you can look at granite and its formation is by comparing it to ice cream.
Similarities:
Granite and Ice Cream have more in common with each other than a person might originally think. Both of these objects begin their "lives" as liquids, cool, and eventually solidify. Granite solidifies at temperatures below 650°C (1200°F), and Ice Cream at temperatures below 0°C (32 °F).
Differences:
The basic ingredients of Ice Cream are milk, cream, and sugar. The basic ingredients of Granite are Plagioclase Feldspar, Potassium Feldspar and Quartz. Quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, but Feldspar is more common in the world as a whole. The basic “Flavors” of the Ice Cream world are Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. The basic “Flavors” of the Granite world are Peraluminous (contains Aluminum), Peralkaline (contains Sodium and Potassium), and Metaluminous (a mixture). All Granites are going to fit into one of these three chemical “Flavors”. The chocolate chips and nuts of the Granite world are minerals such as Muscovite, Biotite and Augite. The Smuckers chocolate swirls are layers of dark black minerals called Schlieren. The word Schlieren comes from the German word for “streaks”. Butterfingers, M&M's, Heath Bars, and Oreo cookies added to Ice Cream, can be compared to Xenoliths (fragments of unrelated rocks found inside Granite) and Enclaves (dark fragments that are related to, but not actual Granite). The Cherry, Mint and Peach flavorings added to Ice Cream are like the chemical elements such as Fluorine, Boron, and Titanium that will be found in Granite. Emulsifiers, Stabilizers and Thickeners found in Ice Cream, and minerals such as Zircon, Apatite, and Titanite found in Granite, all have a big influence on the overall “Flavor”. Add a little of any of these “additives” and they can greatly influence the final "Flavor".
Crystallization:
Both Granite and Ice Cream become crystalline as they solidify. Crystals in Ice Cream are typically too small to be seen with the naked eye. Granite has crystals large enough that their basic minerals can be identified with a quick glance. Quartz crystals are usually transparent and glassy with rough irregular fractures. Feldspar crystals are usually pearly, white or pink, with smooth cleaved surfaces. Many Granites show pearly flakes of white or black Mica, while others contain dark green or black Hornblende particles. Granite comes in a slightly limited variety of color depending on its chemistry and mineralogy (“Flavor”), while Ice Cream comes in a seemingly endless array of colors and “Flavors”.
Appearances:
Other types of rocks can have the same general appearance and some of the same ingredients as Granite, but they will not be Granite. If not mixed and cooled properly, the finished product will be a cheap imposter. By not following “The Recipe”, the end product could be a substance such as Gabbro (Dolerite). Just like Granite, Gabbro is a coarse grained, intrusive, igneous and plutonic rock. Gabbro and Granite both contain Plagioclase Feldspar, Amphibole, Olivine and Pyroxene. Yet some of the needed ingredients (Potassium Feldspar for one) to make Gabbro a complete Granite are missing, making it an imposter. Close, but no cigar.
Ice Cream has its own list of imposters which include Sorbet, Italian ice, Granita and Sherbet. None of these contains milk but all still have a similar “Flavor” as that of Ice Cream.
Any changes in “The Recipe” can result in significant alterations to the final product.
Just as Vanilla Ice Cream may not look like Pralines and Cream, Chocolate Fudge Truffle, or Burgundy Cherry; they all contain many of the same ingredients and are created in basically the same process.
Shapes and Sizes:
Both Granite and Ice Cream can be found in a vast multitude of shapes and sizes. Ice Cream can come in cookies, cups, blocks, bars or sticks to name a few. Granite comes in batholiths (large rounded masses), laccoliths (mushroom-like or domed sheets), lopoliths (bowl shaped sheets), and sills (horizontal sheets) or dikes (non-horizontal sheets). Whatever final shape each of these take will tell you nothing about their overall chemistry and mineralogy (“Flavor”).
Many thanks to GC1PNHN and peace107 for the inspiration and guidance in creating this earthcache.
Congrads to olkb and bucknuts on FTF 09/09/09
Logging Requirements:
Send the answers to #1- #4 to me through my geocaching profile.
1. List the name “GC1Y5GY Iowa Farmland Granite Ice Cream Earthcache” in the first line of your email. Also, list the number of people in your group.
2. From a distance, this rock appears (A) in color. Up close, you will see that it contains (B) (C), and (D) colored particles. These particles are approximately (E) in size.
3. Measure the rock. Based on 180 lbs per cubic foot, what is the weight of the rock?
4. Look around the area (including over the back fence). Based on your observations of other rocks in the area, was this rock placed here by man or by nature (a true erratic)?
5. (Per current gc.com guidelines, photos are no longer allowed to be required. HOWEVER they are encouraged, since they can help clarify that you have visited the location if your other logging requirement answers are vague). Submit with your log to Geocaching.com, a photo of yourself and GPS with the rest area buildings in the background. DO NOT show the rock in your photo. As I have included questions about the composition/color of this rock, any photos would be a giveaway.
I will only respond if you have incomplete logging requirements. Go ahead and log your cache
References:
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Additional Hints
(No hints available.)