Bold Boulder EarthCache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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This boulder is in a road ditch along a secondary road (gravel)in Bremer County.
This boulder is a glacial erratic, a rock not native to the area in which it has come to rest, hence the name "erratic" or errant location. These rocks were carried often hundreds of miles to their current locations by glacial ice. This region of Iowa was covered by glacial ice four times in recent geologic history. The most recent glaciation occurring 14,000-12,500 years ago when what is now called the Des Moines Lobe of the Wisconsin ice shield reached its furthest south by what is now Des Moines, Iowa. People familiar with the land in this part of the state, geologically referred to as the Iowan Surface, recognize the glacial erratics as rocks that may hinder the advancement of agriculture. Extremely cold climatic conditions led to erosional beveling of this area and removal of much of the finer-grained glacial materials, thus concentrating the larger pebbles and boulders at the land surface.
This boulder may or may not have been in the way of the farming or road building but it can leave one to wonder. Since it is in the road ditch, it may not be possible to view this boulder during a winter with any significant amount of snow cover.
To gain credit for this EarthCache, please perform the following tasks:
1) Upload a picture of yourself and this boulder with your log.
2) Email the cache owner the estimated mass of the boulder as seen above the ground. This estimate must be figured mathematically and not just your best guess. Send me your figures!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pbafvqre ibyhzr naq tenavgr'f qrafvgl (znl erdhver bhgfvqr erfbheprf!)