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STIRRED ? SHAKEN ? or ? EarthCache

Hidden : 9/10/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:

This "EARTHCACHE" is located in Little Cove
one of many protected areas along the Bruce Peninsula
and is distinguished by an exceptionally rugged Lake Huron shoreline.
Natural features include barrens, scrub cliffs, palisade woodlands,
and karst pavements, which are limestone surfaces with potholes and twists
caused by natural, acidic erosion.




Welcome to Bruce Peninsula National Park of Canada!

This is not an actual cache.


As per the Parks Canada geocaching policy: Trade items are not permitted in caches, this includes Travel Bugs.

Bienvenue au Parc national du Canada de la Péninsule-Bruce!

Ce n'est pas un cache réelle.

Tel que stipulé dans la politique de géocachette de Parcs Canada, les objets d'échange ne sont pas permis dans les géocaches; ceci comprend les « travel bugs ».

In the heart of a World Biosphere Reserve, the 'Bruce' is a place of global significance. The massive, rugged cliffs of the park are inhabited by thousand year old cedar trees, overhanging the crystal clear waters of Georgian Bay. The park is comprised of an incredible array of habitats from rare alvars to dense forests and clean lakes. Together these form a greater ecosystem - the largest remaining chunk of natural habitat in southern Ontario.

Situé au coeur d'une réserve de la biosphère mondiale, le « Bruce » est un endroit d'importance mondiale. Les falaises massives et déchiquetées du parc abritent des pins vieux de mille ans qui surplombent les eaux cristallines de la baie Georgienne. Le parc offre des habitats variés, de la rare végétation Alvar, aux forêts denses, en passant par des lacs aux eaux pures. Ensemble, ils forment un grand écosystème et la plus grande étendue sauvage qui reste dans le Sud de l'Ontario.

___________________________
With permission from Parks Canada"
___________________________
s s s s
  • Left photo: Shows a large, 30 meter (100feet), ? ? ? fracture along a mesa cliff on the Colorado Plateau of northern Arizona.
  • Right photo: This kind of circular fracture pattern is common in obsidian (volcanic glass). However, this fracture is generally observed on a scale of a few centimeters, as usually found only in smaller size gem stones, rather than tens of meters.

  • s s s s
    Area terrain map - - - Little Cove rocky beach.

    Approximately 400 million years ago, this area was covered by a shallow tropical sea teeming with life in the form of plant-like animals, crustaceans, living corals and mollusks. It would have looked much like the present-day Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
    When the sea began to dry up, the minerals dissolved in it became more and more concentrated. Magnesium in the water was absorbed into the limestone, which then became a harder, slightly different sort of rock, called dolomite. The ancient sea carried sand, silt and clay to be deposited as thick layers of sediment and at the same time lime-rich organic material from the abundant sea life was also accumulating. Over millions of years these materials became compressed into massive layers of sedimentary rocks and ancient reef structures now visible along the Escarpment. Some rock layers now consist of soft shales and sandstones while others are made up of dolostone (a rock similar to limestone which contains magnesium and is more durable).
    The Bruce Peninsula Escarpment contains more than 100 sites of geological significance including some of the best exposures of rocks and fossils of the Silurian and Ordovician Periods (405 to 500 million years old) to be found anywhere in the world. The harder dolomite limestone forms much of the rock of the escarpment cliffs along Bruce Peninsula National Park's Georgian Bay shoreline.
    Where erosion has cut more deeply, caves have been formed, like the Grotto on the shore between Marr Lake and Georgian Bay Trails. Great blocks of dolomite, undercut by wave action, have tumbled from the cliffs above and can be clearly seen below the surface of the deep, clean waters of Georgian Bay. Limestone is a rock which is easily eroded by water, as is shown by the "sculpted" appearance of much of the rock in the park.
    - You may see rock covered with small circular holes. This is called *"pitting" and is caused by mild acid in the water dissolving the rock.

    • * The pattern shown below, at the south side of the bay, was not created by one of those actions.

    • Stirred - Shaken or Crushed ?





      The name for this local phenomenon can be found on this Information Board at the parking area.
      These patterns are only found in a small section of Little Cove Bay.


      Your mission:
      • 1. The name for this fracture is ___________ !

      • 2. How was this fracture created? ____________

      • 3. What is the length of the largest of the shell shaped fracture at these co-ordinates?_____________

      • Is this resemblance of the shaped curves of a mussel ...
      • 4. Oblong or circular? _____________

      • 5. How many others can you find within this immediate area? __________

      • *** Photos with or without you or your group are always appreciated.


      • Credits:
      • 1.USRA.edu ~ Tom McGuire, photo credit.
        2.Geology.com ~ small rock, photo credit
        3.Parks Canada. information/text.
        4.Owen Sound Field Naturalists.
        5.Other photos by C.O.

      Disclaimer:
      This cache was not placed by an employee of Parks Canada.
      *It has no affiliation, related directly or indirectly with 'Explore the Bruce Tourism' .


Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fyvccrel jura jrg ;-)

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)