Jump Off Rock EarthCache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Legend is that an Indian maiden and her Cherokee lover agreed to meet on the rock upon his return from a tribal war. Every evening she would climb the rock to wait. Upon learning of his death from returning warriors she leaped to her death. Some say you can see her ghost looking for her lover.
Slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains facing the coastal piedmont are generally steeper and more rugged than those facing the enterior of the United States. Rocks from the eastern slope are among the oldest on earth, some exceeding 1.2 billion years and pre-dating the formation of the mountains. These mountains were formed in three major uplift phases, the first about a billion years ago, the second perhaps some 550 million years ago, and the final one about 300 million years ago. Since that time water, wind, temperature and gravity have caused the fundamental erosion that created the Blue Ridge. Traveling along I-26 from the SC-NC State Line to Asheville, there are two major geologic provinces. South of the Asheville Regional Airport, metamorphosed igneous and sedimentary rocks belong to the Inner Piedmont Geologic Province. North of the airport, metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks lie in the Blue Ridge Geologic Province. The boundary is a major fault in the southern Appalachian Mountains known as the Brevard Fault Zone. Henderson Gneiss is a type of granite classified as a metamorphic rock located in the central part of metamorphic belts. Jump Off Rock is part of the Brevard Fault and inner piedmont belt. For the last 100 million years, erosion has carved away the mountains, leaving only their cores standing. Erosion continues today and is constantly altering the landscape of the Southern Appalachians. Composition varies from that of granite to quartz monzonite. Minerals include microcline, oligoclase, quartz, and biotite with accessory muscovite, garnet, allanite, zircon, sphene, and opaques.
Jump Off Rock is located about 5 miles from downtown at the end of Laurel Park Hwy in the Town of Laurel Park. Directions from downtown Hendersonville take Fifth Avenue West, it becomes Laurel Park Highway, the road dead ends at Jump Off Rock. The park is open daily, sunrise to sunset. No admission charge.
To log this earthcache: email me the answers to the following questions. Please do not put the answers in your log.
1- What type granite is Jump Off Rock mainly composed of?
2- One of the distinctive characteristics of the rock is the bumps covering it. What do you think these are?
3- Name two of the five mountains listed on the info plaque and their elevations.
4- Post a photo of yourself with your gps at the rock
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)