Skyview Shelter or Where the Sheep Hide!* EarthCache
Skyview Shelter or Where the Sheep Hide!*
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Difficulty:
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You will park at the Apostolic Church (see coordinates) and
hike an approximately 3 mile round trip on this part of the Pine
Mountain Trail. This is a moderate to difficult trip.
The birth of the Appalachian ranges which occurred some 300
million years ago, marks the first of several mountain building
plate collisions that culminated in the construction of the super
continent Pangaea with the Appalachians near the center. At the end
of this time (Paleozoic Era) and many millions of years before
dinosaurs walked the earth, and this super collision between the
American, European and African landmasses caused the earth’s crust
to buckle and fold. Along the eastern edge of what is now North
America, the fold that is visible is the Appalachian Mountains.
Pine Mountain is the last and westernmost of the great ridges of
the Appalachian Mountains. In fact, as you travel west from the
ridges forming Pine Mountain, which includes Black Mountain, the
highest point in the state, there are no higher natural geological
land features until you reach the Rocky Mountains.
Pangaea
At its core, Pine Mountain is a geologic phenomenon called
the Cumberland Overthrust Block. The mountain range formed when a
piece of the earth’s crust buckled and broke. The southeast chunk
of rock (the Virginia part) moved between six and 11 miles west and
slid up and over the northwest rock (the Kentucky part) at an angle
of 30 to 40 degrees. The highest bits of rock on Pine Mountain are
sandstone normally found 2,000 feet underground.
Just what is the sandstone of Pine Mountain? First,
sandstone is a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks are one of the
three major classifications of rocks. The other two classes of
rocks are igneous and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed by fire
(i.e. volcano lava or magma) and metamorphic rocks are rocks which
have altered compositions or changes made by tremendous pressures
and temperature changes. As stated earlier, sandstone is a
sedimentary rock and it is composed mainly of sand-size mineral or
rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar
because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust.
Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors
are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray and white. Since sandstone beds
often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features,
certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with
certain regions.
The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages.
First, a layer or layers of sand accumulates as the result of
sedimentation, either from water (as in a river, lake, or sea) or
from air (as in a desert). Typically, sedimentation occurs by the
sand settling out from suspension, i.e., ceasing to be rolled or
bounced along the bottom of a body of water (e.g., seas or rivers)
or ground surface (e.g., in a desert or sand dune region). Finally,
once it has accumulated, the sand becomes sandstone when it is
compacted by pressure of overlying deposits and cemented by the
precipitation of minerals within the pore spaces between sand
grains. For thousands, even millions of years, little pieces of our
earth have been eroded--broken down and worn away by wind and
water. Layer after layer of eroded earth is deposited on top of
each. These layers are pressed down more and more through time,
until the bottom layers slowly turn into rock. Yes, in case you are
wondering, this area was once covered by a vast sea, which formed
the sandstone of the Pine Mountains.
Be sure to look for some sandstone conglomerate with smooth
quartz pebbles suspended within the surrounding sandstone. The are
differing ways this combination of rocks is formed, which we will
not go into here, but it far less common than plain
sandstone.
The Sky View Shelter is really a cave and that’s what you
are going to see. It is not a seemingly endless cave because you
can see and go to its end. It is a most beautiful cave that was
carved out of the Pine Mountain sandstone over millions of years.
Primarily the erosion of water did this. Instead of the darkness of
most caves, the Sky View Shelter is illuminated by openings in the
rear which allow light to pierce the darkness and for you to
appreciate the grandeur of this sandstone ‘ball room.’ Of the many
caves and shelters that dot the Mountain, the Sky View Shelter is
one of the largest if not the most interesting. You can easily
enter it and explore all aspects of the cave. Even though
exploration is easy, as usual, always exercise caution when walking
within the cave. The odds are against it, but rocks can and do
become dislodged and with some dampness, it can be slick!
Baaaaa! Do You See The
Sheep?
We would like to thank mtmanva2 for all of his
contributions to geocaching and for bringing us here and his
encouragement to submit this Earthcache. Be sure to find his nearby
traditional cache as well as several other wonderful geocaches
along the Pine Mountain Trail. Enjoy the trip and don’t miss the
other photo opportunities.
Pine Mountain Trail
Marker
*You may be wondering about the part of the title,
“Where the Sheep Hide”? Well, this cache is dedicated to my
Dad, Proctor S. Burress, Sr. When I was a boy, Dad used to take me
to a wonderful cave/shelter just like this one. It was along
Robinson’s Creek in Elkhorn, Taylor County, KY. We hiked there and
fished in the creek. Country concerts and even church services were
held in the shelter and it was called, “The Sheep’s Shelter”. By
the way, I never did see a sheep there or here. A sad note,
the Elkhorn shelter is now under water due to the damming of the
Green River to form a reservoir. The lake is beautiful but the
shelter has been reclaimed by water. Dad’s boyhood home- place is
under the same water.
NOTE In order for you to claim a find for this
Earthcache you must complete the following tasks: 1. Post a photo
of your entire party at the mouth of the cave with GPSr in hand, 2.
Email us the answers to the following questions (a). What is the
depth of the shelter?,(b). Estimate the height and width of the
opening of the shelter, (c). Describe the colors of the rock within
the shelter.
This Earthcache was approved by the
Geological Society of America
| We have earned GSA's highest
level: |
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| FTF HONORS GO TO: perrycoscooter
& fivecrs |
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jnvg hagvy qnex naq lbh jvyy ghea vagb n ong!
Treasures
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