Iron Pigs Earthcache at the LVGGP EarthCache

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Greyvin: Thanks to everyone who found this one! We are opening up the area for new caches to be placed.

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Hidden : 1/7/2012
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Official Earthcache
Part of the Lehigh Valley Geocachers GeoPark

Lehigh Valley Geocachers GeoPark

What is a GeoPark?

Several members of Lehigh Valley Geocachers volunteered to hide interesting and unusual caches in a small, concentrated area. We call this zone a “GeoPark.” If you plan your caching just right, you may qualify for a “One Busy Day” cache. Enjoy!

Hugh Moore Park Notes:

The GeoPark is located on a portion on Hugh Moore Park. Ample parking and picnic tables are available, in addition to biking and hiking trails. You may also enjoy a mule-drawn canal boat ride (fee required) and explore the Emerick Technology Center (admission fee, included with canal boat ride). It’s a wonderful location for a family to spend a day.

Hours: 8am to dusk

Pets: permitted on the east side of the park, only; pets not permitted in the area near the canal boat, technology center or locktender's house, (the west side of the park).

About this Cache:

Earthcaches DO NOT have containers.
In order to log this cache, you must answer the questions on this page correctly by visiting GZ.
To answer the questions you will need a tape measure, a strong magnet, and of course, your GPS.
DO NOT post the answers in your log (send them via our profile page).


From about 1842 - 1896, well before Hugh Moore Park was established, The Glendon Iron Company, under management of ironmaster William Firmstone, manufactured "pig iron" on this island. Glendon was one of the largest and most productive iron furnaces in Pennsylvania. In fact, some say that this was the largest manufacturing site for iron in the United States as about 30% of the country's iron was produced here. For example, Furnace No. 1 went into production on Sept. 5, 1844. It produced more than 57 tons of pig iron a week and required about 117 tons of anthracite to do the job. At the time, this area contained pockets of iron ore and rich deposits of limestone for flux. These are key ingredients for the production of iron.

The Glendon Iron Company furnaces with Lehigh Canal and Lehigh Valley Railroad in foreground
The Glendon Iron Company furnaces with Lehigh Canal and Lehigh Valley Railroad in foreground
Photo credit: Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Inc.

The coordinates take you to the molten iron ore rock that was left at the base of a Glendon Iron Company furnace that shut down in 1896. All of the structures from the Glendon Iron Company were demolished in the early Twentieth Century. Some scattered remains can be found throughout the park, however, this sole rock remains and is a reminder of a time when the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs worked hard producing pig iron, as opposed to being the minor league Triple-A baseball affiliate to the major league Philadelphia Phillies.

Pig iron, one of the main raw materials used to make steel, is the product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel, usually with limestone as a flux. The purpose of the flux is to purge the metal of chemical impurities and of the rendering of slag more liquid at the smelting temperature. The slag is a liquid mixture of flux, ash, and other impurities. Pig iron was traditionally made into ingots. A typical mold was a type of branching structure in which there were many individual ingots at right angles to a central channel or runner. This looked like a litter of piglets (ingots) sucking on a sow (the runner). From this, the term "pig iron" was coined and the workers were called "iron pigs".

Lead Ingot 'Sow' and 'Pigs'
Lead Ingot Sow and Pigs
Photo credit: Hunan Guiyang Yinxing Nonferrous Metal Co. Ltd

Most of Earth's Iron Ore deposits were formed over 1.8 billion years ago from chemical reactions that combined iron and oxygen in marine and fresh waters. Two key minerals in these deposits are iron oxides: hematite (Fe2O3) with a reddish color and magnetite (Fe3O4) with a blackish color.

Hematite
Hematite
Photo credit: R.Weller/Cochise College.

Magnetite
Magnetite
Photo credit: R.Weller/Cochise College.

Questions

1. There are two "levels" to the rock. Measure the longest length of both.
a. How long is the top level?
b. How long is the bottom level?
c. Based on what you see and what you have learned about the history of this area, why do you think there are two levels?

2. Using your magnet. Find part of the iron ore rock that it is attracted to.
a. What color of the iron ore does the magnet stick to?
b. Is it magnetite or hematite?

3. Find another nearby object in the park that was made from iron ore.
a. What is it?
b. At what coordinates did you find it?

REMINDER: To log cache, you must answer the questions on this page correctly by visiting GZ.
To answer the questions you will need a tape measure, a strong magnet, and of course, your GPS.
DO NOT post the answers in your log (send them via our profile page).

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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