One Tuff Place EarthCache
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This Earthcache will teach the finder about one aspect of volcanic ash:
Rhyolite Tuff. It is located at Dripping Springs Natural Area and you never
have to leave the well marked trail.
This Earthcache is located in Dripping Springs Natural Area. It is a BLM owned and operated park and requires a $3 entry fee. This area is opened between 8:00am-7:00pm (April-September) and 8:00am-5:00pm (October-March). (See their web site for the latest information and hours:
(visit link) Along with this cache is access to trails leading to Dripping Springs, the Boyd Sanatorium, Van Patten Mountain Camp, and Fillmore Canyon. There are several miles of hiking trails with many shaded benches and a few picnic tables.
The Earthcache requires a walk of about one mile. There is not much elevation change and you should never leave the well-marked, well-maintained trail. Park at the A. B. Cox Visitor Center and grab a copy of the La Cueva Trail Guide. All the places you will have to visit are on this guide along with a nice explanation. Head down the trail in a westerly direction from the flagpole.
La Cueva Tuff
The most prominent feature in southern New Mexico is the Organ Mountains. They were created about 32-36 Million years ago when underground magma cooled and formed these granite mountains. They are visible today because of uplifting and weathering. However, just south of these mountains (beginning in about Fillmore Canyon) are volcanic features that were speed from the volcanoes.
La Cueva is Spanish for ‘the cave’. This is somewhat misleading because the cave is about the size of a living room and has an opening big enough to drive large a car into.
Welded Tuff is the term used to define the process when volcanic ash and dust fuse together into a solid object while they are still hot from being spewed out of a volcano. The La Cueva Tuff is also called a Rhyolite Tuff and consist of pumiceous, glassy fragments and small volcanic cinder fragments with quartz and alkali feldspar. This visible part of this massive ‘hunk’ of welded tuff is about 1500 feet long, 300 feet wide (at the widest part), and about 150 feet high. It can be put into perspective by thinking of how much volcanic dust must have been in the air to form this rock formation – don’t forget to factor in many millions of years of weathering.
Similar pieces of this type of rock can be seen in front of Laabs Pool and in front of Si Senor Mexican Restaurant. If you know of other places around town of this type, please include them in your log.
In order to log this cache, you must visit three locations along the trail, answer two questions, and provide one photograph. Do not post these answers in the log, send them to me separately.
Stop 1. The first location (the given coordinates for this cache) is called The Overlook. I have provided a photo by the same name. This will give you a nice view to the small cave. Look about halfway up the rock wall of the La Cueva ‘rock’ and to the left of the cave. You will notice some indentions in the face of the rock about the size of a softball. Remember these holes because there will be a question about them at the second stop.
Stop 2. N 32° 20.040 and W 106° 35.607. You will see a post with a ‘14’ on it. Next to the post will be a small indentation in the rock about the size of a softball. There are several indentions like this scattered around the bare rock at this location. Were these indentions created the same way as the ones you saw on Stop 1? If not, how are they different? [Question 1]
Stop 3. N 32° 20.070 and W 106° 35.612. This is the mouth of the cave. Take a picture of your GPS next to the welded tuff. Try to get the detail of the rock. When you post the photo, provide a description of the rock. Include something about how many different type of substances make up the rock. [Question 2]
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Znxr fher lbh teno n Yn Phrin Genvy Thvqr - vg jvyy uryc jvgu gur nafjref.