Jake's Rocks-The Allegheny Plateau EarthCache
Jake's Rocks-The Allegheny Plateau
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This cache takes you to Jake's Rocks Overlook where you have a good view of the surrounding hilltops and the Allegheny Reservoir.
Jake’s Rocks – The Allegheny Plateau The geographical region we are in here is called the Allegheny Plateau. This high plateau region of the eastern US stretches from the Mohawk Valley in New York State southward through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. This plateau extends about 500 miles. The highest elevation on the plateau is 4860 feet above sea level in West Virginia. The lowest elevation on the plateau is about 1500 feet above sea level. Although these hills are often called the Allegheny Mountains or the Alleghenies, they are not true mountains. A plateau is a large highland area with fairly level land and geological layers (bedrock). This area was once a shallow inland sea. Over millions of years sediments were deposited on the sea floor. After millions of years of accumulation of these deposits, they eventually solidified and became rock. These types of rock are called sedimentary rock (ones formed from sediments laid down under water). Common sedimentary rocks of this region are sandstone, siltstone and shale. Later the sea bed rose in elevation to create the plateau. Over more millions of years the streams and rivers eroded into the plateau cutting numerous hollows and valleys into it. This is what is called a dissected plateau. True mountains are areas that rise above the surrounding area and are usually produced from pressure from large pieces of the earths crust when they push against one another. These pieces of earth’s crust are called tectonic plates. The pressures created by them pushing against one another are called compressional forces. These forces compress the land between the plates and force the rock to bend (fold), break (fault) and rise up. Mountains are therefore usually characterized by bedrock layers that are folded and slanted rather than fairly horizontal orientation of the rock layers of a plateau. Looking out over the area from the Jake’s Rocks Overlook, take a good look at the surrounding hill tops. Notice that they are all roughly the same elevation. This is another typical characteristic of a plateau. And of course, while you are there, enjoy the view!!! An interesting satellite photo can be found at http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/vageol/vahist/cumberland.html This page compares the Allegheny Plateau with the Ridge and Valley province (old mountains) to the east. To log this cache you must do three things: 1) (OPTIONAL)Upload a photo of yourself or your gps at the overlook with the relatively level hilltops in the background or take a photo of something that you find interesting or scenic . 2)Tell me in your log the number of people in your group. 3) You must email the answers to the following questions. Using topographic map(s), email me: a) the exact elevations (in feet above sea level) of five hilltops in the immediate area of Jake’s Rocks and b) tell me the difference between the highest hilltop elevation you report and the lowest. Please do not put these figures in your log! You can use any available topographic maps for the area. Topozone on the internet will work just fine. Use the scale of 1:24000 scale. Exact elevations on topo maps are marked with an “x” on the map and the exact elevation is printed right next to it. For those of your not familiar with topo maps, topo maps are maps which show a lot of physical detail about the land. One very important feature of topo maps is that they show contour lines. The brown lines on the topo maps are the contour lines. Each line shows an elevation and every point on that line is the same elevation. The feet above sea level for the even 100 foot intervals are labeled periodically along the line. The even 100 foot contour lines are a darker brown. There are other lighter brown lines in between the 100 foot lines. On topos in our area the elevation difference between lines is 20 foot. This is called the contour interval. Contour intervals can vary in different areas of the country. Flatter areas will have smaller contour intervals. Examples would be 5 or 10 foot intervals. By counting the lines between the 100 ft lines, you can determine the approximate elevation of any spot on the map. Please Note: An EarthCache must have an educational task to be completed by the visitor. If the education task and the other requirements are not met, the log will have to be deleted.
Additional Hints
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