Shell Reef EarthCache
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Shell Reef is a protected area of Ocotillo Wells SRVA. It is fenced to protect the remaining fossils shells from erosion and destruction. One of the main and most popular 4X4 trails run directly south of Shell Reef aptly called Shell Reef Expressway. This route will get you closest to the Earthcache. ...
Imperial Formation Shell Reef is part of the Imperial Formation and consists of marine clastic sediments distributed widely in Imperial and Riverside Counties, California. The age of the Imperial Formation is Late Pliocene. This age is based on the fact that the fossil remains are decidedly modern in character and are similar to those found in the tropical Gulf of California today. Over the course of the last 3-4 million years, powerful geologic forces have dramatically altered this area. These forces have changed it from a marine environment to a river delta and eventually an upland landscape composed of riparian forests, streams and grasslands and then to the desert landscape, we see today. You can see the evidence of the shells along the edges of the fenced in area. These shells have eroded out of the top of the ridge with each rain. Please remember that all fossils in the park are protected and need to remain in place. Look but do not remove. This cache was developed with the permission of OWSVRA and you will use their interpretive panels to answer the questions below. Logging requirements: Send me a note with : 1. The text "GC237DA Shell Reef – OWSRVA" on the first line 2. The number of people in your group, one email for the group is okay as long as you list all geocachers by caching name. 3. Send me a note with the two specific types of fossil depicted on the interpretive panels {Panels are currently removed but answers can be found at the interpretative card called Shell Reef or at the visitor center) . 4. Include a guess at the thickness of the fossil layer at the top of Shell Reef. The following sources were used to generate this cache: • Lecture notes from Paleontology Society certification training • Jack D. Mount, Southern California Academy of Sciences, Annual Meeting, Abstracts of Program, May 1974, page 29 • George T. Jefferson, Paleontological Resources Management, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Proceeding of the 6th Fossil Resource Conference , 2001, page 137
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