Parson's Mountain is one of several monadnocks located in the upstate. A monadnock is an isolated hill of bedrock rising above the general level of the surrounding area. Monadnocks are "lone mountains", left as erosional remnants of mountain chains because of their more resistant rock composition. When the less resistant rock is eroded away to form a plain, the more resistant rock is left behind to create a monadnock which are formed in humid, temperate regions. Parson's Mountain located in the Piedmont Region. This region is called a plateau by some geologic experts. Plateaus are relatively flat, raised areas of land. They are usually horizontal rises of rock, which were raised by forces of Earth. Piedmont literally means "foot of the mountain".
Parson's Mountain has large deposits of the minerals prophyllite, andalusite, quartz, magnetite, and rutile.
- Prophyllite and andalusite are composed primarily of aluminum and silicon. Prophylilte is a sandy/rusty color and is used in slate pencils and tailor's chalk/ Andalusite is purple or yellow/green in color.
- Quartz is composed of silicon and oxygon. Most people are familiar with it's translucent white form but it can have a pink or black hue. In fact South Carolina's state gem amethyst is actually purple quartz! Quartz is a main source of silicon
- Magnetite is a naturally occurring form of iron and is very magnetic. It is usually black but can be grey in color.
- Rutile is a deposit of titanium oxide. Like quartz it is semi-transparent. It is most common in a reddish-brown or purple color.
To receive credit for this EarthCache email me the answers to the following questions:
1) In order to determine the height for this monadnock measure the elevation with your GPS at the parking trail head and then again at the top.
2) Looking at the rock the benchmark is located in what mineral(s) do you see deposit(s) from within 1 foot of the benchmark..
Go to the other waypoint listed it's about 200 feet away. You should be standing at another exposed rock overlooking the exposed ridge line down the path of the power line.
3) What do you believe caused this formation of rock to have these jagged lines.
4) Detail any mineral deposits you see listed here
Optional: Pictures are not required, but I do encourage you to upload any shots of the surrounding terrain, yourself at the top, and any other mineral deposits you may spot