Blow Me Down is...Volcanic? EarthCache
Blow Me Down is...Volcanic?
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This is an Earth Cache, so there is no container to be found. There is only an Earth Sciences lesson. To log a find on this cache you are required to read the description, find the volcanic rock and answer a couple of questions in an email to the Cache Owner.
This Earth Cache is located near the beach in Blow Me Down Provincial Park. To access the cache, drive to the beach parking lot and look for the 'Governor's Stairway' sign to the left of the beach.
Please pay all required park fees (Currently $5 per day but I would recommend the season pass for $20 that allows entry to all NL provincial parks for the season). Park access is during summer only, all other times you will need to walk in from the closed gate at the park entrance along Rte 450
AGGLOMERATES:
At GZ, you will find volcanic rocks along the stairway up to the lookout trail. These rocks are Agglomerates; coarse accumulations of large blocks of volcanic material. Agglomerates differ from volcanic blocks in that their shape records fluidal surfaces. It is clear to pick out agglomerates as volcanic due to their shape and appearance.
Agglomerates are typically found near volcanic vents and within volcanic conduits. The presence of the agglomerates in Blow Me Down Park is proof that during the Paleozoic Era (450 million years ago), there was an active volcano in the area around the park that covered much of the ground in agglomerates. Much of this is now covered by sediment deposited by glaciers but due to the location of these agglomerates, they have remained exposed.
Agglomerates are a good indication as to the materials below the ground in a given area as all of these materials are mixed and forced to the surface during eruptions. The agglomerates here are uncommon in the fact that they contain large veins of quartz that was forced to the surface in melted form during eruptions and then cooled in the form we see today.
To log this Earthcache, answer the 2 questions below in an email to the cache owner. Alternatively, you may post a picture of the rocks to let others know what they have to look forward to.
1. Which direction do the quartz veins run, vertically or horizontally?
2. What colour are the quartz veins?
Thanks for visiting our Earthcache, we hope you found it as interesting as we did.
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