Earth's Pearls EarthCache
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EARTH'S PEARLS
Earth’s Pearls are spherical rocks found embedded in Ohio shale.
Ohio shale is the uppermost and youngest layer of bedrock at
Highbanks. It was formed some 350 million years ago during the
Devonian period. Ohio shale is a hard, dark, thin-layered rock that
tends to break easily. Earth's Pearls range in size from a few
inches to over 10 feet in diameter. Like the small grain of sand
that forms the nucleus of a real pearl, the nucleus of Earth’s
Pearls are formed around a piece of plant or animal matter. Below
are the stages of formation of an Earth’s Pearl.
Earth’s Pearls Stages of Formation
Stage 1. 350 million years ago prehistoric plant and animal life is
abundant in the Devonian sea.
Stage 2. A prehistoric plant or animal dies and settles to the
bottom and and begins to decay.
Stage 3. A portion of the prehistoric plant or animal forms the
nucleus as minerals begin to gather around and the Earth’s Pearl
begins to take shape.
Stage 4. As the Earth’s Pearl grow, layers of sediment from the sea
are deposited forming the surround shale that the Earth’s Pearl is
embedded.
Stage 5. Erosion or mining of the shale exposes the Earth’s
Pearl.
To claim a find, please email me the answer
to the four questions below. Also you will need to upload a picture
of yourself displaying your GPSr with an Earth's Pearl in the
background.
Only logs with the uploaded picture
and sent email will be accepted.
Question 1: What is the common name for an Earth’s Pearl?
Question 2: In 1987, what was inside an Earth’s Pearl that was
found at Highbanks?
Question 3: What is the diameter of Earth's Pearls? (Bring a tape
measure!)
Question 4: What are the other two layers of bedrock found at
Highbanks?
Please Observe The Metro Parks Trail Use
1.2 Use of Nature Trails and Multi-Use Trails
Persons shall remain on the official, designated, or improved
trails while visiting natural areas of the Park, unless involved in
a Metro Park program involving off-trail activity or in accordance
with a special or general permit issued by the Executive Director.
The Executive Director may issue a general permit to designate
areas in a Park where off-trail activities are permitted.
You do not need to go off-trail to
locate this cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ivfvg gur Angher Pragre (Jrrxqnlf 12-8 be Jrrxraqf 10-8), ernq fvtaf, be gnyx gb anghenyvfg. Jvagre ubhef: Bcra hagvy 5 CZ.
Treasures
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