Finger Rock Earthcache EarthCache
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The coordinates will take you to an interpretive sign up on a small hill. The path there is gravel and fairly easy. I don’t know if it would be wheelchair accessible, so terrain is 1.5. Park in the nearby parking area, stretch your legs and use the restrooms. As with all Dalton Highway caches, come prepared with extra gas, food, water, clothing, and a spare tire or two.
Throughout the years, Finger Rock has served as a landmark for several purposes. Before western culture reached the area, hunters knew of the rock which marked a premier location to watch for game. Later, early bush pilots used the rock to guide their way home, since the granite “finger” points directly to Fairbanks. Today, Finger Rock marks a unique habitat, scenic vista and wildlife viewing site for people traveling the Dalton Highway.
The rocks the jut from this landscape tell of a time long ago when magma oozed through cracks in the bedrock. As the magma cooled, it became hard granite. Water seeping through new cracks in the bedrock froze, forming wedges of ice that fractured the weaker rock surrounding the granite. Over the years, water and gravity carried these softer rocks away, the granite slabs, also known as tors, as enduring monuments. Finger Rock is the largest tor in the area.
Also to be found in this area are stone rings. The process that creates these also traces its origins to the winter cold. Water freezes and expands underneath buried rocks and boulders. This expansion jacks the rocks and boulders upward to the surface. The continued heaving and jacking of buried rocks forces those on the surface outward, forming rings of stone.
When you log your find, please email the owner the answers to the following questions. Answers are found on the sign at the posted coordinates. Posting a photo is always welcome, but not required.
1. Finger Rock stands how many feet above the surrounding landscape?
2. What is the name of the process that jacks the rocks and boulders upward to the surface?
3. And to discourage armchair finds, you will find these words on the sign at the posted coordinates. Fill in the blanks. “Look for these _______ ________ as you _______ ________ _______.”
Resources used to develop this earthcache were all on location, on the interpretive signs.
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Treasures
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