Rocky Hollow EarthCache
Hidden : 8/4/2008
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:





Welcome to Turkey Run State Park. Deep canyons nestled in the shadows of sandstone cliffs and peaceful evergreen groves harbor some of the most rugged beauty.

For many million of years, weathering and erosion helped to mold the landscape before the final reshaping began with the onset of the Ice Age. Beginning about 2 million years ago, snow in Canada accumulated and compacted to form an ice sheet thousands of feet thick. Flowing pastically, the ice spread into portions of the northern United States.

As ice flowed over land north of Turkey Run, it picked up rock and soil material that was then carried along by the glacier. Later, as the glacial ice melted, the unsorted debris was deposited wherever the glacier had been. Tremendous volumes of glacial meltwater used some of these erratics as abrasive tools to wear away the bedrock. More about these can be learned in our earthcache The Punch Bowl.

The prominent features in Rocky Hollow include smooth, nearly vertical bedrock walls. This phenomenon is due to smooth fractures in the bedrock, called joints, which probably resulted from regional stresses in the rock. Streams in the park follow the nearly rectangular joint pattern in numerous places because this is the least resistant path for erosion of running water. Excellent examples of joints are found up the trail you'll be on, especially wedge rock. When the water freezes, it expands, exerting pressure on the already weakened areas. Weather conditions that prevailed during glacial times were more severe than they are today, thus causing acceleration of the weathering. Huge blocks that have thus tumbled into the gorges are seen througout the park.



Cache Requirements
Read carefully. To log this cache you will need to achieve three goals.
1) Take a picture (with GPS) of yourself at the sign.
2) Bring a thermometer and record the temperature difference created from the canyon in front of you. A good start point would be to measure on the suspension bridge as you approach.
3) Locate the nearest evergreen tree from the sign. ID it and email it with the temperature difference. Hint, all evergreens nearby are the same species, and live in the cooler climate created by Rocky Hollow. Email the information when you log. Logs without the info will be deleted.

Thank you to the Turkey Run Interpretive Staff for the information and for giving permission to place these earthcaches here!

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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