Sandy Beaver Canal Earthcache EarthCache
Sandy Beaver Canal Earthcache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
the echo dell bridge is being painted until the end of august 2011. so to do this cache please visit the informational sign #1 and then you will have to drive around to the other side of the park to access the trail head to the main EC site
The easiest route is to take the lower vondergreen, only about ¾ mile from bridge. However when the creek is high this route is impassible. The first hundred yards is all hiking along the rocks of the creek bank, a smooth trail starts and is smooth walking to the Lock. The Upper Vondergreen is roughly 1 ½ mile long and follows the hill side. It has a few challenging climbs but is all, clear trail.
The trail at the lock site continues to the Sprucevale camp ground. Several other caches of mine can be found if you hike the full trail (approx 3-4 mile). This is easily accomplished with a partner by parking a vehicle at the campground parking lot and start at the Echo Dell Parking lot. The history lesson for this earthcache will be at the lock site on the informational sign.
The information for this earth cache will be obtained from 3 locations. The first is a informational sign near the parking area of the park. N 40 43.633’ W 080 36.681 The second is an informational sign at the lock site and the 3rd is your own observation and testing of the lock itself.
The Stone used to create the canal locks were cut from Sandstone. Sandstone and shale formed when sediments wash into the sea from nearby land masses. Sandstone represent periods of, when course grained material were introduced from swift flowing rivers.
Shale form from the finer particles (Mud)
Limestone represents were the sea was deeper and clearer. It precipitates out of the water, accumulating as mud with shell fragments on the sea floor.
Sandstones used to build these locks are believed to be of the Pennsylvanian age, Pottsville group. They are known as Homewood sandstone
The Pennsylvanian system was first defined in 1838. It has been important for its coals, clay, shale’s, sandstones, limestone’s, iron ore, and gas. The rocks cover an area of 70,800 square miles in central and western PA, eastern Ohio, western Maryland, Western Virginia, West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee and northern Alabama. Ohio there is Approx. 12,340 square miles.
The Pottsville Series is important due to its mineral resources. In Ohio the surface area of these rock that can be seen, is about 3760 square miles. The average thickness of these formations is 255 feet.
The Homewood sandstone occurs in massive ledges broken by irregular and widely spaced beding planes and by vertical joints. It is somewhat cross-bedded, but shows little tendency to part, on weathering, along these planes. this means that the bottom layer that supports the large ledge, is thin layers of shale. This can be illustrated by the provided photos taken on the lower vondergreen trail only a few hundred feet from the lock.
Rock Ledge: N 40 43.199’ W 080 36.287’
It is a fine textured stone that is composed mainly of well rounded quartz. Quartz is rated a 7 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness, this is harder than steel, which is rated a 5. Diamonds are rated 10. This helps to illustrate the reason this type of stone was used for building these locks. The bonding agents ,In this stone, are iron oxide and clay matter. The iron content is very visible on many of the lock stones. Some spots are called Vugs or small holes.
Lock Engineering
Whereever possible the foundation of the lock was laid on bottom rock. In places where, the rock was to fair below the surface a timber foundation on top of gravel puddle was formed.
The stones were laid in mortar made of water proof lime and sand.
Questions:
Geology Sign by the bridge
Q1: What killed vegetation and brought in sand and mud seen today as layers of coal interspersed with sandstone and shale
Info Sign at the lock
Q2: What did the SB Canal Connect
Q3: How many miles was the canal. How many Locks and dams
Q4 What event was the downfall of the canal?
Q5: What is the rendering of, that is depicted on the information Board
Q6: what is the name and lock number# of the canal lock
Task 1: Rub the Stone with your thumb as you do so cup your hand underneath to catch what falls off. Test several Stones. Some stones are more weathered than other. This test is simply to demonstrate the durability and strength of the sandstone.
Report back your observations of the test.
Task 2: Identify the presence of iron in the lock stones. What color does it appear? What direction does the discoloration go? Why do you think the iron is visible as this color.
A big thank you to my pal greg for his help with teaching me some geology for this EC. We had a good time investigating and observing the day before he left for the grand canyon.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures