GC105Z7 500 mya (Earthcache) in Indiana, United States created by bluegillfisherman

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GC105Z7 ▼

A cache by bluegillfisherman Message this owner

Hidden : 1/3/2007

Difficulty:

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Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

This earthcache will take you to the center of a half mile long roadcut, one of several along Highway 1 & 101 that has exposed Ordovician bedrock of 450 million years ago. Schools sponsor numerous field trips along these cuts to collect and study the abundant fossils. Individuals & collector's clubs alike, visit as well. You are allowed to retrieve fossil specimens, but NO DIGGING is permitted.

   During the Ordovician Period, the surface of the earth was quite different than it is today. 500 million years ago, nearly all life on earth was in the oceans. The only land life was in the form of primitive plants near the water line of the coasts, probably mosses and algae. Insects did not yet exist, nor did amphibians or reptiles. Fish as we know them did not exist, although a form of primitive fish began to appear by the end of the Ordovician. Though Ordovician life sounds primitive by today's standards, the life during this period was more advanced than life in the earlier Cambrian Period. Ordovician life was characterized by a dramatic increase of the shelly fauna, corals, and bryozoans. The shelly fauna include the brachiopods which did exist prior to the Ordovician, but were less numerous and mostly unarticulated. The Ordovician introduced numerous articulate brachiopods which have a tooth-and-socket arrangement along their hinge line.
    In order to understand how the environment of the Ordovician Period differed from today, you must realize that continental drift has dramatically changed the face of the earth since the Ordovician Period. In the case of what is now North America, only the newly forming Appalachian Mountains were above sea level. Indiana was covered by the shallow Sauk Sea. The North American plate was located near the equator, placing Indiana in the Southern Hemisphere. Tropical to subtropical seas dominated the landscape.
    This environment encouraged the development of corals, trilobites(primitive arthropods), gastropods(snails), bryozoans(colonial organisms), cephalopods(similar to squid), brachiopods(similar to clams and mussels), and crinoids(related to urchins and starfish).

    The fossils found in Southeastern Indiana are world renowned for their abundance and state of preservation. This was made possible by the conditions that existed in the area. In this area of warm, shallow seas, marine life flourished. To the East, active volcanic mountain highlands were being constantly eroded. As the erosion progressed, the sediment was carried into the Sauk Sea to the West. This sediment buried many organisms under an airtight, muddy blanket which encouraged the remarkable preservation seen in the fossils that were left behind. This muddy blanket eventually turned into layers of shale & limestone.

    To log this Earthcache, you must search the site & find at least one fossil specimen, and;
( a ) Post a photo of the fossil (at the site) and the coordinates where you found it, with your on-line log.
( b ) Email me with a description of your specimen.
( c ) Identify your specimen. Comparison help may be found here.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

[Parking near the ends of the benches will keep the terrain rating low.]

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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500 mya EarthCache

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