Tellus Rock Garden EarthCache EarthCache
Tellus Rock Garden EarthCache
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This EarthCache is located on the grounds of the Tellus Science Museum. It is placed with permission of Joe S., one of the museum's directors. It is a quick but informative stop easily done by travelers. If you have the time, please try to visit the museum (there is an admission fee) which has a vast collection of exhibits and things to see and experience. It is affiliated with the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and is of the same caliber - FANTASTIC! There is no fee to do the cache.
The museum is open daily, 10AM – 5PM except New Years day, July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas day.
PLEASE: You are asked to limit your search to daytime hours only, between 9am and 6pm.
Also, you may NOT enter the grounds if the gate is closed!
The Staff asks: Please Do NOT search if there is an outdoor event going on.
ALL QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED STANDING AT THE CACHE LOCATION.
Again, THERE IS NO FEE TO DO THE CACHE.
TO LOG THIS CACHE:
If possible, please: send your answers the SAME DAY YOU LOG the CACHE FIND.
At the cache location you will find displayed 6 sets of examples of Sedimentary and Metamorphic rocks.
From your own observations as well as the descriptions given on the interpretive information display for the 6 sets of rock specimens displayed here answer at least 1 of the following questions OR post a photo (of you if you wish) at the cache site, preferably with your GPS in the photo:
Remember: Please send your answer(s) the same day as you post your found it log in a separate email through geocaching.com to me, Do NOT Post Them In Your Log.
(Any photos CAN be posted to the log)!!
1) To your front left, there is a large, round-topped rock listed as #2.
(a) What type of rock is it (Sedimentary or Metamorphic)? _______________________.
(b) What is it's name? _____________________.
(c) (Optional) What do you think are all the small protrusions on the surface? ________________.
2) FIND the specimen listed as #5.
(a)What type of rock is it? ____________________.
(b) What is it's name? ____________________.
(c) Tell me what color it is ____________ and (optional) why YOU think it is that color. _____________ _______________________________________.
3) There is a very large rock to your left listed as #1. It is a type of ore.
(a)Tell me what type of ore it is. ____________________.
(b) (Optional) Go around the walk to the other side of # 1. From your observation, tell me what you see that might let you know it is this type of ore. ______________________________________.
4) Which of the rock examples in front of you was used by Native Americans to make arrowheads? ______________________.
Again, A photo of you (with or without your GPS) standing in front of the museum (or anywhere inside if you go), its sign, or the displayed rock specimens, while not required, is always appreciated and CAN be used as your Proof Of Visit!).
I ask that you email your answers to me (through geocaching.com) on the same day that you log your “found it” log. (This does not have to be the day you visit, just the day you log the find on the computer.)
You do NOT need to wait for a response from me.
Again Remember: Send your answers in a separate EMAIL (through geocaching.com) to me, Do NOT Post Answer(s)In Your Log!!
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You are standing before an outside exhibit of the Tellus Museum that displays some of the various types of rocks found in the state of Georgia, including some found in the area you are now located. More are located inside the museum. Today we are going to explore some of Georgia's geology.
YOU MAY NOW SELECT YOUR QUESTIONS ABOVE TO ANSWER TO COMPLETE THE CACHE.
THE FOLLOWING IS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLY:
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GEORGIA'S GEOLOGY
and other Geological information.
Georgia's rocks and geological structures define the shape and relief of the land, providing the topographic tapestry on which the state's history has been played out. The story of Georgia's geology stretches far back into the distant past and tells a tale of ancient tropical seas, mountains pushed up by the collision of continents, and ocean basins opening as continents rift apart.
Georgia has a vast geologic history covering at least 1 billion years. During this time, the formation and erosion of mountain ranges, dramatic climactic changes, several episodes of flooding by the sea, and volcanic eruptions have influenced the state's geology.
The geologic history of each province is unique, but all the histories are interrelated.
You happen to be standing near The Cartersville Fault, Part of the Cartersville-Great Valley Fault System, which is the Eastern border of The Valley and Ridge Region of Georgia, as far as its geology is concerned.
Views of folded rock layers of this fault system may be seen in the rock outcroppings along Interstate 75 (just 1/4 mile to the East of this location) between Cartersville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, as well as along many state and county roads in the area.
Georgia consists of four distinct geologic regions: From northwest to southeast, those regions are: The Valley and Ridge (the one you are located in today), The Blue Ridge, The Piedmont, and The Coastal Plain. All of these geologic regions extend into surrounding states, but Georgia is the only state south of Virginia to have all four regions.
The Blue Ridge is a region of low-to-high-grade metamorphic rocks. Many of the rocks of the Blue Ridge appear to be the metamorphosed sedimentary rocks. Others are metamorphosed igneous rocks, such as gneiss. The Blue Ridge region forms the North Georgia Mountains or the southern Appalachians. The topography is not as patterned as that in the Valley and Ridge, and drainage systems are generally dendritic (appearing branches as a tree would), whereas they are linear (along a more-or-less straight line) in the Valley and Ridge.
The Piedmont is a region of moderate-to-high-grade metamorphic rocks , such as schists, and gneisses and igneous rocks like granite. Topographically, the Piedmont mostly consists of rolling hills, although faulting has produced the impressive ridge of Pine Mountain near Warm Springs. Isolated granitic plutons also rise above the Piedmont landscape to give prominent features like Stone Mountain.
The Coastal Plain is a region of sedimentary rocks and sediments. They are underlain by igneous and metamorphic rocks like those of the Piedmont. The sedimentary rocks of the Coastal Plain partly consist of sediment eroded from the Piedmont over the last 100 million years or so, and partly of limestones generated by marine organisms and processes at sea.
The Valley and Ridge consists of sedimentary rocks that have been folded and faulted to cause long northeast-southwest-trending valleys and ridges that give the region its name. The faults are all thrust faults at which sheets of limestone, sandstone, and shale have been pushed northwestward on top of each other.
A Fault is a break in the rocks that make up the Earth’s crust, along which rocks on either side have moved past each other. Not every crack in the ground is a fault. What defines a fault is the movement of the rock on either side. When that movement is sudden, the released energy causes an earthquake. Some faults are tiny, but others are part of great fault systems along which rocks have slid past each other for hundreds of miles.
If the slip occurs primarily in a vertical sense, it is known as a dip slip, since it roughly parallels the dip of the fault. If the slip occurs primarily in a horizontal sense, it is known as strike slip, since it roughly parallels the strike of the fault. A Thrust Fault: is a dip-slip fault in which the upper block above the fault plane moves up and over the lower block, so that older strata are placed over younger.
The Valley and Ridge region extends southwest into Alabama and northeast into Tennessee and beyond.
In Georgia, the eastern and southern boundary of the Valley and Ridge is 
The Cartersville-Great Valley fault system, which runs south from Chatsworth to a point southeast of Cartersville (where YOU are now standing) and includes The Cartersville fault (see photo to the right). This fault marks the place where Piedmont metamorphic rocks (to the right in the photo) were shoved westward over sedimentary rock layers (to the left in the photo) of the Valley and Ridge. The Cartersville fault is the Georgia segment of a much larger fault zone running from Alabama to Pennsylvania. It separates the Piedmont region from the Valley and Ridge region.
So, to the west of the Cartersville fault lies the Valley and Ridge region. Rocks of this region are generally as ancient as those of the Piedmont but have not been subjected to the intense degree of metamorphism that the Piedmont has. For this reason, they still contain their original sedimentary textures, structures, and fossils. The rocks in these areas occur as layers (also called strata) and consist mainly of sandstones, shales, and limestones.
The rocks of the Valley and Ridge formed under a vast, shallow, inland sea that covered the area. Shells and other hard parts of ancient marine plants and animals accumulated to form limey deposits that later became limestone. The weathering of limestone, now exposed at the land surface, produces the fertile, lime-rich soils that are so prevalent in the Great Valley.
Sedimentary rocks originally were deposited in horizontal layers, but in the Valley and Ridge area these layers have been folded and faulted, squeezed and deformed by the same continental collision event that pushed Piedmont metamorphic rocks westward up and over the Valley and Ridge strata along the Cartersville fault. As a result, the layers are no longer horizontal but are bent into great folds. As these bent and folded layers of rock gradually weather and erode, they form the long winding ridges and valleys from which the province takes its name. Many of these rocks contain abundant fossils. From these fossils and the rocks that contain them, it is clear that most Valley and Ridge strata formed in ancient seas that inundated the interior of North America. Again, these folded rock layers may be seen in the rock outcroppings along Interstate 75 between Cartersville and Chattanooga, as well as along many state and county roads in the area.
If You Look At The Specimens In The Rock Garden Before You, you are able to see several examples of Sedimentary and Metamorphic rocks from the Ridge and Valley Region. The Aluminum Ore sample is from Adairsville, Ga., only 12 miles to your North West. Also from there is shown some Limestone. All but 2 of the exhibited rocks are from less than 15 miles away (Acworth and Kingston as well as Adairsville). The other 2 are from Blue Ridge and Red Oak, Ga. respectively only 50 and 45 miles distant.
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Geologists classify rocks into three major groups, according to the major Earth processes that formed them. These three rock groups are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. While igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks are produced by internal processes within the Earth, sedimentary rocks are formed by processes which are active at the Earth´s surface, including on land and under the sea.
Glossary and Definitions:
IGNEOUS ROCKS are formed from melted rock that has cooled and solidified. When rocks are buried deep within the Earth, they melt because of the high pressure and temperature; the molten rock (called magma) can then flow upward or even be erupted from a volcano onto the Earth's surface. When magma cools slowly, usually at depths of thousands of feet, crystals grow from the molten liquid, and a coarse-grained rock forms. When magma cools rapidly, usually at or near the Earth's surface, the crystals are extremely small, and a fine-grained rock results. Obsidian, granite, and basalt are three of the many types of igneous rock.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS are formed at the surface of the Earth, either in water or on land and are layered accumulations of sediments - fragments of rocks, minerals, or animal or plant material. Most sedimentary rocks become cemented together by minerals and chemicals while some remain loose and unconsolidated.
The layers are normally parallel or nearly parallel to the Earth's surface; if they are at high angles to the surface or are twisted or broken, some kind of Earth movement has occurred since the rock was formed.
Sedimentary rocks are forming around us all the time. Sand and gravel on beaches or in river bars look like the sandstone and conglomerate they will become. Compacted, dried mud flats harden into shale.
In most places on the Earth's surface, the igneous rocks which make up the majority of the Earth's crust are covered by a thin veneer of loose sediment, and the rock which is made as layers of this debris get compacted and cemented together. Because of this, sedimentary rocks are sometimes called secondary, because they are often the result of the accumulation of small pieces broken off of pre-existing rocks. Two common examples of sedimentary rocks are sandstone and limestone.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS get their name from meta (change) and morph (form). Any rock can become a metamorphic rock. In most cases, this involves burial which leads to a rise in temperature and pressure. Sometimes sedimentary and igneous rocks are subjected to pressures so intense or heat so high that they are completely changed. They then become metamorphic rocks. New minerals are created either by rearrangement of mineral components or by reactions with fluids that enter the rocks. Some kinds of metamorphic rocks--granite gneiss and biotite schist are two examples--are strongly banded or foliated. (Foliated means the parallel arrangement of certain mineral grains that gives the rock a striped appearance.) Pressure or temperature can even change previously metamorphosed rocks into new types.
Feldspar, 
is a group of widespread aluminum-silicate minerals containing oxides of sodium, calcium, or potassium, which constitute 60 percent of the Earth's crust. Feldspar minerals occur as components of most rock types, especially igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Gneiss, is 
is a foliated metamorphic rock in which bands or layers of granular minerals alternate with minerals having flaky properties, and can be gray or pink in color but with dark streaks and layers. It has a medium to coarse-grained texture, with altering light and dark layers, the lighter usually having a coarsely granular texture while the darker, which often contains mica, may be foliated.
Granite: 
" is a common, very hard, granular, crystalline, intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar. This rock consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar. By definition, granite is an igneous rock with at least 20% quartz by volume.
Jasper: 
is an opaque impure microcrystalline form of quartz, red, yellow, brown, or dark green in color, used as a gemstone, for ornamental decoration, and decorative carvings. Jasper usually occurs in association with iron ores and contains iron impurities that give it its color.
Limestone: 
is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Limestone makes up about 10% of the total volume of all sedimentary rocks. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions allowing water to erode the limestone over thousands to millions of years is why most cave systems are through limestone bedrock.
Mica, 
is a group of hydrous aluminum-rich silicate minerals, all of which have perfect basal cleavage that allows them to be peeled apart in thin layers.
Pluton: A Pluton is defined as a body of rock formed from magma (molten rock) migrating and solidifying deep in the subsurface, creating an igneous rock. If erosion or other Earth forces expose the pluton, you will see a dome-shaped feature, sometimes incredibly large. Stone Mountain here in Georgia is such a pluton.
Quartz 
is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It consists of silicon dioxide and comes in many varied forms.
Sandstone: 
is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common tan, brown, yellow, red, gray, pink, white and black
Schist is 
is a metamorphic rock that comes in almost infinite variety. schist is a rock formed by dynamic metamorphism at temperatures and high pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other flat or elongated minerals into thin layers, or foliation. At least 50 percent of the mineral grains (such as mica) in schist are aligned this way. Less than 50 percent makes the rock gneiss.
Shale: is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin, parallel layers less than one centimeter in thickness. Shales are typically composed of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz grains and the typical color is gray, but can be black, red, yellow, brown and green. Fossils, animal tracks are sometimes preserved on shale surfaces. Shales that are subject to heat and pressure of metamorphism alter into a hard, metamorphic rock known as slate. With continued metamorphosis it can become schist and finally gneiss.
Slate 
is a fine-grained, foliated metamorphic rock that is created by the alteration of shale or mudstone by low-grade regional metamorphism. Slate is composed mainly of clay minerals or micas depending upon the degree of metamorphism to which it has been subjected. The original clay minerals in shale alter to micas with increasing levels of heat and pressure. Slate can also contain abundant quartz and small amounts of feldspar, other minerals.
Again, at the cache location you will find displayed 6 sets of examples of Sedimentary and Metamorphic rocks.
You are now directed to the top of the cache page where you will find questions relating to the specimens before you that must be answered in order to complete this EarthCache (unless you use the Photo option).
I used information from the Tellus Museum, Wikipedia, www.rocks-rock.com, geology.com, http://science.yourdictionary.com and www.superglossary.com for this cache.
Again, if you have time, consider visiting inside if it is open. There are many exhibits to see and explore, and is very enlightening. You won't be disappointed!
HAPPY CACHING!
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Co-FTF HONORS GO TO...anna lisa AND fly_fish!!!
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