Jurassic Journey along the Blanco EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

West Texas Reviewer: Cache Owner (CO) has not responded, so the cache is being archived to keep it from continually showing up in search lists, and to prevent it from blocking new cache placements. If you wish to repair/replace this cache sometime in the future (not to exceed 15 days from the date of this entry), just contact me (by e-mail), and assuming it still meets the current Guidelines, I will consider unarchiving this cache.

Please be advised this is not a guarantee that this geocache will be unarchived. Many factors will go into my decision. The most important of which is how you responded to geocachers who tried to communicate with you regarding the problem(s) with this geocache hide and how you communicated with me, the West Texas Reviewer.

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Hidden : 12/8/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Please note this is an "Earth Cache" it is virtual,
no cache container exists at the location.

What you will find, however, are several trackways of the Sauropod Dinosaur. The 1/2 mile section along this part of the Blanco River (see map) has several different track ways of Sauropod Dinosaurs. This Earth Cache will concentrate on the intersecting tracks that are circled on the map. This 1/2 mile section on the Blanco river, is approx. 3 miles to the west of the City of Blanco. Just off of FM 1623.
In order to claim a "find" for this Earthcache please read the following then answer the questions below.
Do Not Include the answers with your log.
The tools you will need to have with you is a tape measure.
You will be walking in a River Bed, it is not recommend during & after heavy rains. To access this Earthcache you will have to park on FM1623 then walk back to the low water crossing bridge and enter the Riverbed from the bridge. DO NOT PARK on the Bridge.
It is just a short hike along the River Bed to the tracks.
Please be respectful of the nearby residences. Remove any trash.
Do not allow your dogs to run freely.

During the Cretaceous period (144 million years ago) the Mexican Sea of the late Jurassic period spread over Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Kansas, and Colorado. Deposits from this inland sea, known as the Comanchean Sea, were chiefly limestone (up to 1,500 ft/457 m thick in Texas)
The Cretaceous was a particularly tectonically active period for the continent. The Rockies had a major upward thrust and seas rose and fell continuously across the continent and Texas. 200 million years of geologic history wore down the North Texas highlands nearly flat, warped them downward, and buried them beneath thousands of feet of Cretaceous sediments.

A significant event for this time period was when the dinosaurs met their demise at the close of the Cretaceous (beginning of the Paleocene) 66 million years ago.
But for some Dinosaurs they left a permanent mark with their footprints. The coordinates will bring you to the site in the river bed of the Blanco River. Access by parking at the Parking Coordinates and making a short hike down the hill to the River Bed. Here you will see a nicely preserved set of Dinosaur tracks.
Most Texas dinosaur tracks are in limestone that formed in shallow water at the edges of an ocean. Limestone is a type of rock created mostly by living things, such as calcareous algae, corals, oysters, and clams. Shells and hard limey stems and fronds were broken into sand-sized grains and even mud-sized particles. The sediment was deposited in the dry or shallow-water coastal environments where dinosaurs roamed. Storms would blow in and deposit new layers of sediment on top of the dinosaurs' footprints, burying the prints and preserving them. Eventually erosion of soils near waterways exposed the preserved footprints. As you look around you will see two intersecting sets of Dinosaur prints that were made by Sauropod dinosaurs. The Sauropd Dinosaurs are known as the Biggest Dinosaurs which include the Diplodocus, Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus) and Brachiosaurus.
By measuring the "Gait" of the tracks we can approximate the height of the dinosaur who left these tracks. Gaits are therefore described by stride length, (Stride Length = Distance between two successive placements of the same foot) measuring between equal points, which can be measured directly from the trackway.

To log this cache, please answer the following questions:
1)What is the Length of the Footprint? (Straight line from the tip of longest toe to the back of the foot.)
2)What is the approximate "Hip Height"(HH)? (4 x Foot print length)
3)What is the "Length of Stride(LS)? (see above)
4)What is the Length of Stride & Hip Height Ratio? (Length of Stride/Hip Height)
5)With the above information you can now determine if this Sauropod's were Walking, Trotting or Running by using the following Formula:
If the LS/HH ratio is less than 1.0, the dinosaur was WALKING.
If the LS/HH ratio is between 1.0 and 1.9, the dinosaur was TROTTING.
If the LS/HH ratio is 2 or above, the dinosaur was RUNNING.
6)What other prominent feature do you see around you? How do you think it was formed?
Go ahead and log this as "Found"
and then email the answers to me thru my profile.
Remember~do not put the answers in your log, it will be deleted.

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Congratulations! "HiDude_98" First to Find!

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