The posted coordinates will take you to the front door of the Mosquito Hill Nature Center interpretive building. The parking lot will be to your right as you drive up. The building is closed on Mondays and holidays. The office is open from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Tuesday to Friday. The interpretive building is open from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on weekends. The office may not be staffed during on the weekend but someone will be around. The Mosquito Hill grounds are closed during the nine day Wisconsin firearms deer hunting season.
Mosquito Hill is quite unique in Wisconsin but there are a few other examples of these flat topped hills near here in the New London area. The hill consists of an underlying layer of sandstone (Cambrian Jordan sandstone) capped off by a layer of hard dolomite (Ordovician Prairie du Chien dolomite). The hill exists today because the dolomite protects the soft sandstone beneath from erosion. In the western part of the country there are many of these flat topped hills called mesas.
One tool that geologists use it their work is a Munsell color chart. They use it to identify the exact color of the rock they are studying. Your task is to use this color chart to identify the color of the sandstone and dolomite found on Mosquito Hill.
To log this cache you must:
1. Visit the office during open hours and let the staff know you are working on the earthcache, and ask if you could borrow the Munsell Color Chart book. Picking up a trail map here might be helpful too. Please sign the guest book in the lobby.
2. Hike up the hill on the "Overlook Trail" on the north side of the hill. Near the top you will see outcrops of the sandstone eroding from the side of the hill. Stop at the "Sandstone Outcrop additional WP" and use your color chart to determine the color of this sandstone. Pick an area that has no moss growing on the rocks. Do not use the numeric color identification. You should write your answer down so you don’t forget. Please stay on the trail as much as possible. Please do not disturb the rocks. They crumble easily. Beware that there are areas of intrusive igneous rock (created by magma within the earth's crust) along the way.
3. Proceed up the trail to the top of the hill to the "Dolomite Outcrop additional WP". Here you will find an area of exposed dolomite. Again use your color chart to determine the color of the rock. Write your answer down. While you are here, take in the view. You can then proceed down the hill, either by the path you came on or the steeper shorter trail on the south side of the hill.
4. Log your visit. No spoilers please.
5. Email the cache owner with your answers for the colors of the two rock types. Logs without emails will be deleted as will logs with obviously wrong answers.
6. Please be prompt returning the book to the office.
Mike Hibbard, director of Mosquito Hill Nature Center, gave permission for this Earthcache to exist here.
Much of the specific geology information came from the Steven Dutch Mosquito Hill web site.
Though 95% of your hike is on an established trail the terrain rating is set at 4 because of the elevation change and the rocks you need to walk on towards the end.
There are other caches in the area and you might want to search for them while you are here.
Mosquito Hill Nature Center web site can be found here.
Hours and location are listed here.
A trail map is located here.
Click here for the Steven Dutch Mosquito Hill web site.
History of Mosquito Hill:
As late as 1900, there was evidence of the Woodland Indians on top of the hill in the form of conical burial mounds.
In historic times, the Indian prophet Walking Iron had a village on the hill and was buried where the quarry is located.
In the mid 1800’s, the Fox Locks were constructed from the large timber found on the hill. An immigrant logger was killed by a felled tree and was also buried on top.
The dolomite was quarried circa 1900 and the rock was used for road making.
The hill was used for motorcycle hill climbing competitions in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Skiing and ski-jumping competitions were held here from the 1930’s through the 1950’s.
Snowmobile races were held here in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Mosquito Hill became a nature center in the late 1970’s when Outagamie County purchased the land.
A more complete history can be found in Voyageur Magazine. Winter/Spring 2009.
Congrats to HideNseeker1 for FTF!