Circleville Breccia EarthCache
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A pull off showing the breccia that makes up the canyon here.
Note that if you continue down this little road that connects with the highway about a mile south, it will swing by the small log cabin that was the birthplace and childhood home of Butch Cassidy.
Breccia is simply natures cement. It is made of a mass of broken stones cemented together. It can be made a number of ways.
Sometimes this breccia can be made up of small uniform materials, other times it is made up of larger materials. At this location we are looking at a breccia that is made from the volcanic activity from many miles North of here.
There are a number of huge volcanoes that existed north of here. Mt Belnap, and Monroe were two of the large Stratovolanoes that were in the area.
Vast amounts of ash, pyroclastic flows and explosions from those ejected over 400 cubic Kilometers of material over a long period. The majority of this would have fallen close to those volcanic complexes.
Many of the breccia here was actually in flows, pyroclastic or mudflows before it was cemented together. This material tumbled into this location and the matrix "cement" filled in the voids. Eventually under pressure and possibly heat fused it into solid stone.
Looking north at the stone face.
1 - How much of the material is solid rocks and how much would you guess is the "cement".
2 - Are the stone fragments in the breccia similar in size? or do they vary?
3 - What would make you think the material is volcanic in origin?
4 - Are the stones and cement the same color, or do they vary?
5 - If you are submitting answers for other cachers that is with you please let me know who.
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