Ripple Marks EarthCache
BroBear: destroyed by road construction
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Easily seen from state highway. Little parking. You may have to park a couple hundred yards away and walk to the sight.
When Sedimentary rocks form, sometimes unique features show up in the rock that give clues about the conditions that the rock formed in. Things like fossils, mud cracks, ripple marks, and cross bedding are examples of features found in Sedimentary rocks. Ripple marks are the feature found at this sight.
Ripple marks can be created by wind or water. They usually form from the way that wind and water carry sediments. If the wind/water can totally carry the sediment it is called suspension. If it cannot totally carry the sediment they will bounce along the bottom (saltation). A combination of both these create a unique pattern in the sediments called ripple marks. If this pattern is buried and then lithified (turned to rock) the pattern will show in the rock that is produced. The ripple marks give clues about how and where the rock formed. If by wind it could be on a sand dune or in the desert. If by water it could of formed on a river bed or lake shore. By looking at the ripple marks you could determine wind/water direction or wind/water speed.
These Ripple marks are found in a formation called the Cloverly. This means they formed 146 million years ago.
If you want to get credit for visiting this cache you need to take a picture of some ripple marks, then you need to email them to me with a hypothesis of how they formed, by wind or by water
Additional Hints
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