Fireman's Falls EarthCache
Hidden : 5/29/2008
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

A pretty little park by the roadside, With beautiful waterfalls and very interesting rock formations

A look at rocks exposed in today's Appalachian mountains reveals elongated belts of folded and thrust faulted marine sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks and slivers of ancient ocean floor, which provides strong evidence that these rocks were deformed during plate collision.

The birth of the Appalachian ranges, some 300 million years ago, marks the first of several mountain building plate collisions that culminated in the construction of the supercontinent Pangaea with the Appalachians near the center.

Because North America and Africa were connected, the Appalachians form part of the same mountain chain as the Anti-Atlas in Morocco. To the northeast, the same mountain chain continues into Scotland, from the North america/Europe collision.

This Earthcache is located in a pretty little park, maintained by a local group of volunteers.
The main attraction of the park is a beautiful waterfall, but the area is covered with some very interesting rocks, and it is these rocks that are the subject of this cache..

Rocks are classified by mineral and chemical composition, by the texture of the constituent particles and by the processes that formed them. These indicators separate rocks into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. They may also be classified according to particle size, in the case of conglomerates and breccias or in the case of individual stones. The transformation of one rock type to another is described by the geological model called the rock cycle.

Igneous rocks are formed when molten magma cools and are divided into two main categories: plutonic rock and volcanic.

Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools and crystallizes slowly within the Earth's crust (example granite), while volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface either as lava or fragmental ejecta(examples pumice and basalt).

Sedimentary rocks are formed by deposition of either clastic sediments, organic matter, or chemical precipitates (evaporites), followed by compaction of the particulate matter and cementation during diagenesis. Sedimentary rocks form at or near the Earth's surface.

Mud rocks comprise 65% (mudstone, shale and siltstone). sandstones 20 to 25% and carbonate rocks 10 to 15% (limestone and dolostone)..

Sedimentary rocks can generally be identified by their layered appearance.

Metamorphic rocks are formed by subjecting any rock type (including previously-formed metamorphic rock) to different temperature and pressure conditions than those in which the original rock was formed. These temperatures and pressures are always higher than those at the Earth's surface and must be sufficiently high so as to change the original minerals into other mineral types or else into other forms of the same minerals (e.g. by recrystallisation).

To log this cache you must
1) "Optional, but appreciated" Post a picture of yourself and GPSr with the falls in the background.
2) Send an e-mail to the owner with the name of the group who sponsors the park.
3) Give the classification of the rocks in the area of the falls.

Papafuz & Mama have earned GSA's highest level:
FTF HONORS GO TO Madkiwiman!!


Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Vg'f na Rnegupnpur

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)


Attributes

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