Granite and the Blinged out Snake
While taking a drive I noticed a Snake on a rock-cut, but not the hissing type.
When you arrive to GZ, you will see a granite out-crop.
You should also notice a Black Snake running along the rock-cut.
The snake is made up of a darker rock (Mafic), and contained in the Snake is Quartz.
Although Quartz can be found in the entire rock-cut, the dark band contains larger more obvious pieces.
History Lesson Alert
Granite
Granite is possibly the most common igneous rock type known to the general public.
Granite, which is named for its "granular" or phaneritic texture, has crystals that tend to be
easily seen, although they are generally small.
It is a rock that has been used for centuries for many different purposes such as building material.
Granite is also a source of many mineral specimens. Unfortunately, most of the crystals in a
granite form anhedral crystals or crystals that lack their outward crystal shape.
This is due to the way that the crystals grow into each other to form interlocking crystal frameworks.
Although this gives granite its great durability, it limits its desirability as a source of mineral specimens.
Occasionally there are pockets within a granite where crystals can form very nice specimens.
The minerals that are found in granite are primarily quartz, plagioclase feldspars,
potassium or K-feldspars, hornblende and micas.
Mafic Rock
In geology, Mafic Rock is igneous rock that is dominated by the silicates pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, and mica.
These minerals are high in magnesium and ferric oxides, and their presence gives mafic rock its
characteristic dark colour. Mafic rock is commonly contrasted with felsic rock, (Granite)
Quartz
Quartz is usually the last mineral to crystallize and fills in the extra space between the other minerals.
Quartz's hardness, lack of chemical reactivity and near lack of cleavage
give granite a significant amount of its desirable durable properties.
The Formation of The Snake
Granite is formed from the slow cooling of high silicate magma intrusions that have risen through the
crust and formed large bulbous chambers of molten material called plutons.
Plutons can take millions of years to cool and crystallize into granitic rock.
During the cooling process, voids or veins can occur, and get filled with other types of molten rock
(in this case if filled with Mafic Rock) forming black band with in the granite.
Pods of Quartz fill in even smaller voids with in the Mafic Rock
The cooling process continues for millions of years, and forms an entire solid rock.
Eventually, over time through the process of Erosion, assisted with road construction
the Granite Rock became exposed giving us a great view of a
Granite Rock with a band of Mafic Rock, filled with pods of Quartz
or as I like to call it
Granite and the Blinged out Snake
QUESTIONS
1) Does the Snake follow the same line as the natural horizontal lines/cracks in the Granite?
(Explain why you think this is)
2) Is the majority of the Quartz found in the Snake more rounded or long.
(Explain why you think this is)
3) Is the Width of the Snake about the same from start to finish?
(Explain why you think this is)
4) Near GZ are 2 drill marks,
How much Quartz (White mineral) is present between the 2 drill marks?
is this more, less or the same as the rest of the Snake?
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Please send the answers to me Via my Geocaching Profile.
Do not post the answers in your on-line log.
NON-SPOILER pictures are always welcome, but not mandatory for logging this Earth Cache