This series of caches is about
gems and minerals. The gems in this series are semi-precious stones
that are sometimes used for jewelry making. The minerals in this
series are common ones with some that are used to make familiar
items around you. Other minerals might be encountered at rock
outcrops on a camping trip or while hiking. Each cache will have
samples of the subject gem or mineral (while supply lasts) which
you are welcome to take, but please take only one per geocacher
name.
The Gem &
Mineral Trail: Halite
Halite is a mineral you eat every day: table salt. Halite, which
is Sodium Chloride (NaCl), is precipitated from sea water and
deposited with many sedimentary rocks. The precipitated salt can
form thick beds up to hundreds of feet thick. In the U.S, such beds
are mined for the rock salt in New York, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas,
and New Mexico. Bedded salt under the pressure of overlying rock
layers becomes somewhat plastic and flows like toothpaste upward
towards the surface to create salt domes in Gulf of Mexico states
like Louisiana and Texas.
Halite is usually colorless or white and forms cubic crystals.
Halite is a soft mineral with a hardness of 2.5 on the 1-10
Moh’s scale. The name “halite” is from the Greek
hals for “salt”.
This cache is in an out of the way portion of the Rattlesnake
Slope Wildlife Area north of Prosser on the west side of
Rattlesnake Mountain. To get to the parking area for the cache,
take Rothrock Road off of the Old Inland Empire Highway (the
intersection is in Whitstran; McCorkles Market is on the corner).
After traveling 6.5 miles north on Rothrock, the road splits and
Rothrock continues north as a primitive road for another 3 miles to
the parking area (road is in good enough condition for car travel).
The cache is an ammo box. Winter warning: the four caches in
this area are almost at an elevation of 2,400 feet. It is several
degrees colder, windier, and snowier than the other six caches. Be
prepared! In warm weather, watch for snakes and take some water
along!
The other caches in this series are:
Turquoise(GC2JFBE),
Garnet(GC2JFBA),
Amethyst(GC2JFBT),
Hematite(GC2JFC0),
Sodalite(GC2JFC9),
Iron Pyrite(GC2JFCE),
Citrine(GC2JGF2),
Quartz(GC2JGF9), and
Fluorite(GC2JFBH)
Congratulations to
kiekefretter for being the FTF!
Congratulations also go
to kiekefretter for being the first to complete the Gem &
Mineral Trail series!!
NOTE: As of May 31,
2011, all the geocoins are gone. This CONCLUDES the geocoin
challenge portion of the series. The caches will remain in place
and become a regular cache series. THANKS to all who participated
in the challenge and to those who have shared their stories and
photos!
| If you are a Geocacher in the state of Washington, please
join the Washington State Geocaching Association. This is a great
way to get the most out of Geocaching in our region. Simply go to
the WSGA Web
Page for details! |