Gneiss Touch! EarthCache
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A short walking tour on the other side of Silver Mine Park. You will be following the surface outcrop of the ore veins along exposures that date from Civil War times.
By the end of the "tour", you should be able to recognize:
1) Quartz, dolomite and black shale or phyllite.
2) that rocks can fold because you have walked out their outcrop.
3) that there are geologic reasons for ore to occur where it does and provide an explanation.
4) that a geologic history of ancient events can be read from careful observations, and
5) that the old timers who worked this mine had a pretty sophisticated idea of how the ore lay and how to get at it.
Numbered steel markers are keyed to descriptions on the Self-Guided Tour. They lead due north along Silver Mine RUn and then loop around the west or left hand valley wall. The final marker (#9) is a roadside outcrop, east of the stream and halfway up Silver Mine Road. Please exercise caution along the roadside for the final stage as well as being careful on the trail. There are some steep sections and loose stones. Children should remain under responsible supervision. Also note that geographic north is directly up the valley with east to the right and west to the left.
Above coordinates will lead you to the entrance to the mine adit; enroute take the time to stop and learn about the old lime kiln and its function.
Looking west into the mine note the direction that the rocks are inclined and take note of the type of stone.
From stop #2 on the walking tour, proceed 100' to the north and then cut back along the trail to the next stop nearly directly above the adit. As you proceed, you will be passing over and beside piles of waste rock.
These next stops #3-#8, follow the ore veins through several folds as they crop out on the valley wall. These include two up-folds or anticlines separated by a down-fold or syncline.
Stop #3 is probably the best surface location for viewing both the upper and lower ore veins.
At this stop, take note of the type of stone exposed here at the "gopher hole".
Continuing on the tour past the tunnel, looking back through and note the tilt direction of the beds and their change form stop #3. What if they were not plunging, how would they be?
Also what is the exposure at this stop?
Looking back from the far side of the tunnel, is the best place to see a certain type of vein. What is it?
Continue along to stop #5 and tell me what the small weathered outcrops are that are visible with a steep dip to the south.
Now you will cross the axis of the syncline at stop #6. If you look carefully at the outcrop, you will notice a dip of the layers to the north which is a reversal from the previous two stops. The rocks are the same contact of the upper ore level that we have been following since stop #4.
Continue through stops # 7 & #8 to stop #9. What is the significance of this outcrop and how did it form?
Email the answers privately, do not post here.
Upload a photo with GPS of yourself at stop #4.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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