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Fairmont Hoodoos at Dutch Creek EarthCache

This cache has been locked, but it is available for viewing.
A cache by [DELETED_USER]
Hidden : 4/11/2010
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:

The Hoodoos at Dutch Creek in Fairmont is a well know landmark to all travelers on the north south highway through the East Kootenays. According to the Ktunaxa Creation Story they are the ribs of a huge sea monster.

GZ is located near the parking area for the Hoodoos Mountain Resort and gas station, who welcome all geocachers.


Enjoy the hoodoos from the Resort at GZ or you may drive 1 KM up Westside Road where there is the start of a trailhead to the top of the Hoodoos. Trailhead parking is at 50 19.338 115 53.161

It is a long strenuous up hill hike but the views are spectacular and worth the effort. It is a popular family hike. Please stay on the trails and well away from the edges at the top.

Hoodoos are a specific type of formation that is caused when sediment erodes at different rates due to different types of sediment. The softer sedimentary rock lies underneath a harder rock, and it causes the sedimentary rock to be partially protected. The exposed limestone at the top hardened and this created the top-rock for these hoodoos, but this also means that they change a lot. This change is very slow and not noticeable in the short period. The alternating hardening along with the wind and rain is what creates the strange structure of the hoodoos.

The hoodoos are part of a terrace of glacial deposits and these cliffs were the result of the erosion of the terrace by Dutch Creek flood waters that separated the terrace at this point.

Although the following relates to hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, according to Wikipedia, limestone hoodoos are formed due to the following: "Internal layers of mudstone, conglomerate and siltstone interrupt the limestone horizontally. These layers are more resistant to attack by carbonic acid and they can therefore act as protective capstones of fins, windows and hoodoos. Many of the more durable hoodoos are capped with a type of magnesium-rich limestone called dolomite.[16] Dolomite, being fortified by the mineral magnesium, dissolves at a much slower rate, and consequently protects the weaker limestone underneath."

A non geological explanation for the Hoodoos according to the Creation Story of the Ktunaxa Nation, Hoo Doos are the ribs from Yawu?nik a huge sea monster who was killed in the nearby lake. Link to storey http://www.ktunaxa.org/who-we-are/creation-story

To log this cache:

1) Email the owner with an estimate of how high the tallest of the hoodoos that you can see from the viewpoint.

2) Email the owner with the calculated distance from GZ to the Hoodoo base.

3) NOT MANDATORY, but feel free to Post a photo of your GPSr with the hoodoos in the background.

4) Email the owner with a comment on how the structure seen from GZ differs from the structures around the corner.

Thanks and Enjoy

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