Dolomite Earthcache EarthCache

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geoawareCA: This location is no longer accessible to the public and there are posted No Trespassing signs in place. As it is no longer possible to legally access this location, the EarthCache has been archived.

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Hidden : 3/17/2010
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


Lockport Dolomite (Dolostone) is one of the major sedimentary rocks found in this area. This mineral is the main constituent of the Lockport dolomite. Reflections from microcleavage surfaces of minute dolomite, grains are responsible for the glistening appearance of the rock. Solution cavities in the dolomite rock are frequently lined with rhombohedral dolomite crystals. The smaller crystals are often clear and colorless. Large crystals range up to half an inch, are white to flesh colored, have a shiny luster, and often have slightly curved surfaces. Specimens of crystallized dolomite from this region rank among the finest in the world.

The Dolomite name refers to both a rock and a mineral. The rock is now more frequently called the Dolestone. The mineral, Dolomite, is found in the rock.

The mineral is in the carbonate group and is chemically called "Calcium Magnesium Carbonate." The mineral is seen appearing as a part of the rock in the picture at left.

Dolomites form in marine environments and, indeed, much of the Lockport area was once under water. Rock of Dolomite is hard and withstands weathering well. It was thus a popular choice for home and building construction. It is also used in the production of crushed stone.

The Lockport dolomite is well known to mineral collectors for the variety and beauty of the mineral species that may be found in irregular cavities in the rock. One of the earliest references on mineral localities, A Catalogue of American Minerals with Their Localities, by Samuel Robinson, MD, in 1825, lists three species each from Brighton and Rochester and 12 species from Lockport, all from this rock layer.

This gray massive rock is named from its occurrence at Lockport, New York. It extends westward through Ontario, Canada, into Michigan and eastward into Wayne County, New York. It is quite resistant to erosion and it forms the crests of Niagara Falls and the Upper Falls of the Genesee River in Rochester. It is also responsible for the prominent ridge (escarpment) that lies south of Ridge Road in western New York and continues westward into Canada.

After the Barge Canal was built, the piles of Lockport dolomite along the canal west of Lockport and southwest of Rochester were an excellent source of minerals. In recent years, the rock has been crushed and widely used for highway construction. Numerous quarries have been opened in the vicinity of Rochester, west of Lockport and near Hamilton, Ontario. At times, these quarries expose sections of the rock formation that have an abundance of minerals. The minerals that can be found in the Lockport dolomite include:

anhydrite, aragonite, barite, calcite, celestite, dolomite, fluorite, galena, gypsum, marcasite, pyrite, quartz, sphalerite, sulfur

Lockport Dolostone traverses a wide band of the Niagara Frontier. The majority of minerals found here occur in this rock formation. Dolostone/Dolomite was also referred to as "Niagara Limestone" in certain early literature. It is of the Middle Silurian age. Medium to very dark Grey in color, a freshly broken surface usually glistens due to many minute cleavages of dolomite. When struck by a hammer, a strong bituminous odor can be recognized. Many deep pits and brownish Grey color are the usual results of weathering.

Lockport Dolomite contains a large number of solution cavities more or less rounded in shape and from a fraction of an inch to over a foot in diameter. These are called "vugs" which differ from "geodes" in that they cannot be easily separated from the main mass of rock. The minerals are found lining the walls of these vugs, partly or entirely filling them, or filling cracks and fissures in the rock.

During the building of the Erie Barge Canal huge amounts of rock, including Dolomite had to be unearthed and moved. This is especially true at Lockport where the locks were constructed. Rock removed from the canal excavations were first dumped nearby, then often transported to sites far away (by barge) once the canal was in operation and a need for rock was found for the base of bridges that cross the canal.

An excellent place to obtain Dolomite and other rocks that may contain minerals and fossils is in the rock quarries at Lockport as well as Penfield. However, this is all private property and in more recent years, entry has been restricted.



Information taken from:

http://www.lockport-ny.com/Museum/rocks.htm
http://www.rasny.org/geostory/minerals.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolomite
http://webmineral.com/data/Dolomite.shtml

You will be following the Overlook Trail of Ellison Park. You will need to follow the Coyote Den Trail in order to access the Overlook Trail. From a park map you can see a point of interest off the Overlook Trail. This point overlooks an old dolomite quarry. It is now used to excavate sand. You can drive by a working dolomite quarry on Whalen Rd. in Penfield, but it is not open to the public. In order to log this find you will have to:

1. take a photo of yourself or your gpsr at the posted coordinates with the quarry in view.

Email the answers of the following two questions:

2. Estimate the distance of the quarry from the point of where you are standing to the other side.

3. Name two uses of dolomite in today’s society.

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