IATCC - Holy Hill: A Pilgrim's Sacred Home EarthCache
IATCC - Holy Hill: A Pilgrim's Sacred Home
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This is not your typical geocache; it is an EarthCache. Instead of looking for a "cache container" you will be brought to a geological feature.
ABOUT THIS LOCATION This EarthCache is on Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail near Highway 167 in Washington County. Park at Holy Hill lot (N43 14.691 W 88 19.828). Trailhead is at N43 14.838 W 88 19.798. Look for the blue markings. There is also parking near the picnic area along Station Way Road. From there walk up the paved Stations Walkway turning onto another paved walkway between Station VI and VII. At the road turn right to trailhead. NOTE: THE AREA CLOSES AT 5:00 PM.
GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION
At the coordinates you will discover that the wandering pilgrim in none other than a very large boulder. It is a special boulder called an erratic because this site is not its natural home. The bedrock here, which is under thick glacial deposits, is Silurian age (443-417 million years ago) sedimentary rock called dolomite. Transported by the glacier, this erratic, however, had a long journey from its natural home many miles northeast of here. It is an igneous rock, granitic, and formed during the Precambrian age perhaps one to two billion years ago or more.
Imagine this pilgrim's final journey with the last major advance of the Wisconsin glacier. As the glacier was melting here in the world-famous Kettle Interlobate Moraine region this huge erratic crashed down through a hole (called moulin) in the eroding ice along with a tremendous amount of other material brought by the meltwater. This process left a glacial depositional feature called a moulin kame. The erratic is part of the top of the kame, and for now let's call it "erratic's kame." (There are other names for this hill as well, for example, a moraine/ridge as on the trailhead sign and kame terrace.)
East-west along Highway 167 the Kettle Moraine region is about five miles wide and is here on the Niagara Cuesta. To the east is the area where the Lake Michigan Lobe of the glacier was located and to the west the Green bay Lobe. In the Kettle Moraine where these two lobes would interact, the edges of these melting lobes created spectacular examples of glacial depositional features such as this kame as well as kettles, eskers, and moraines.
"Erratic's kame" is very near "Holy Hill kame" (where the church is located) which is the high point of Washington County and southeastern Wisconsin. In summary, this granitic erratic had a long glacial pilgrimage to what would become a sacred site about 10,000 years after its arrival.
IATCC is the cache designation to highlight a series of EarthCaches along the ICE AGE National Scenic TRAIL grouped into a special category called "COLDCACHE." The Ice Age Trail is one of eleven (11) National Scenic Trails designated by the National Park Service. This unique trail is entirely within the state of Wisconsin and follows along the terminal moraine of the most recent glacier. This project is supported by the Ice Age Trail Alliance. The goal is to bring more visitors to the trail and promote public awareness, appreciation, and understanding of Wisconsin’s glacial landscape. More information on the Ice Age Trail Atlas, the ColdCache Project and Awards Program is available at: (visit link)
EARTHCACHE INFORMATION Bring your camera and tape measure. To receive credit for this EarthCache please do the following requirements (enclosed text and posted signs will help you):
1. (MEASURE) The erratic is _____ _____ high with a circumference of about ______ _____ and weighs about ______ _____. The ________ transported it here where it may have fallen through a hole/moulin in it. The elevation at the top of the erratic is _______ _____.
2. Walk a short distance further toward a bench and determine that the elevation at the highest point here is ______ _____. There is also a great view of the erratic from here!
3. Take a picture of your GPS with part or all of the erratic (and you/group if possible) and send with log-in. As of 1/1/11 photos are optional but appreciated.
Send answers to me with EarthCache name and GC-code.
You do NOT need to wait for confirmation from me before logging your find. Please do not make any reference to these answers in your log.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)