Estancia Basin View Earthcache EarthCache
Estancia Basin View Earthcache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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As an earthcache, there is no “box” or “container” to discover. Rather, with this cache, you discover something about the geology of the area. For more info, consult www.earthcache.org
This earthcache is located at the EASTBOUND I-40 Rest Area. There are no nearby exits to make a “turn around” easy, so it really is only accessible from the eastbound direction. There is plenty of space for Truckers/RVs to park. It can be done simply by rolling/walking over to the sidewalk at the edge of the parking area, so is thus fully handicap accessible.
This is one in a possible series of I-40 Park-and-Earthcache caches that highlight various geological features in New Mexico.
Logging Requirements:
Send the answers to #1-#2 to me through my geocaching profile. DO NOT post the answers to any logging requirements on this site.
1.List the name “GC2J47F Estancia Basin View Earthcache” in the first line of your email. Also, list the number of people in your group.
2.What is at least one evidence you see that indicates that this is a FLOODPLAIN (IN the Rift) rather than the top of a mesa?
3.A photo of you and your GPS with the REST AREA BUILDINGS in the background is not required, but is helpful if your answer needs verification of an actual visit!.
I will only respond if you have incomplete logging requirements. Go ahead and log your cache
General Geology: There are four general geological regions in New Mexico – The Western Highlands; The Rift; The Rockies; and the East of the Rift areas. Each has a distinct geological footprint, though the variety present within each region is astounding. This earthcache is located in The Rift region.
There are two rifts in the Southeastern United States, and both are associated with fault lines. The more well known San Andreas Fault in California has created the Salton Sea Rift (and to some extent the associated 'Central Valley” and New Mexico's Rio Grande Rift and its associated basins.
Geology:
From the west (traveling East), beginning in the town of Eastwood, Interstate 40 enters the “Estancia Basin, with the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains, in the distance to the north.
“In the Estancia Basin the Madera formation is overlain by the Permian Abo formation or by Quaternary stream and lake deposits which partly fill the basin. Fine, dark red shales in the Abo formation are relatively impermeable, and help to confine water in underlying layers. Similarly, fine lake sediments within the Estancia Basin confine water in much coarser stream deposits. The basin has no outlet. In Pleistocene time, with Ice Age increases in precipitation, it was likely the site of a large lake-perhaps a salty one part of the time, but fresh when and if it found outlets through the many underground passages in surrounding limestones. The lake's beach ridges, narrow benches cut by lapping waves, appear clearly on aerial photographs,” though they are usually very hard to see with the naked eye.
Resources:
Halka Chronic, Roadside Geology of New Mexico. Mountain Press Publishing. Missoula: Montana. 11th Printing, 2003.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)