THE LOST TREASURE OF BUZZARD'S ROOST?
This hill topped by a rock outcrop is part of the Keechi Hills, near Cement, Oklahoma. In 1875, Jesse James and his gang ambushed a Mexican burro train carrying $2 million in gold bullion. Some would have it that the gold is stashed somewhere in the Keechi Hills. A brass bucket engraved with symbols and this message was found in the Wichita Mountains: "This the 5th day of March, 1876, in the year of our Lord, 1876, we the undersigned do this day organize a bounty bank. We will go to the west side of the Keechi Hills which is about fifty yards from (symbol of crossed sabers). Follow the trail line coming through the mountains just east of the lone hill where we buried the jack (burro). His grave is east of a rock. This contract made and entered into this V day of March 1876. This gold shall belong to who signs below."
In 1932, a policeman named Joe Hunter, who had come across three treasure maps, dug up an iron pot at Buzzard's Roost with gold, jewels, a map on a copper sheet, and a gold watch. Later, he found the brass bucket on Tarbone Mountain, as well as a Dutch oven nearby with a fob and chain matching the watch from Buzzard's Roost. Hunter never did find the gold, and though other treasure seekers have searched the Keechi Hills, it remains unfound to this day.
But that's not why you're here, because Buzzard's Roost is on private property, and digging isn't allowed in geocaching! (Sorry!)
NATURAL ARCH
To start off, what is a natural arch? It's a rock exposure that has a hole completely through it formed by the natural, selective removal of rock, leaving a relatively intact frame. Some arches are called natural bridges, though to be a true natural bridge, a current of water, such as a stream, had to have been a major agent in the formation of the opening (hole) of the natural arch.
CLASSIFYING NATURAL ARCHES
When describing a natural arch, there are different attributes you can use to classify it. Most are listed here; to keep things simple, genetic attributes (describing how the arch formed) are omitted, because this might be difficult to observe from the road. For this earthcache, you will need to use some of these terms to describe the arch you see here.
CONTEXTUAL ATTRIBUTES:
- Coastal: occurring in close proximity to the shore of an ocean, sea, or major lake.
- Stream: occurring over, or adjacent to, a stream or streambed.
- Waterfall: occurring at, or downstream from, a waterfall.
- Ridge-top: occurring on top of a narrow ridge, neck, or promontory of land.
- Elevated: having an opening well above the base of the vertical fin, slab, or wall in which it occurs.
- Isolated: not attached to, or in close proximity to, any rock other than its base.
- Projecting: occurring in a fin, slab, or wall that projects outward from (roughly perpendicular to) a cliff, or occurring at one end of a vertical fin, slab, or wall.
- Occluded: occurring in sufficiently close proximity to a cliff face such that the opening is mostly obscured.
- Blocked: having large, unattached boulders in its opening.
- Filled: loose or compacted soil covers part of the rock frame under the opening.
- Flooded: water covers part of the rock frame under the opening.
- Subterranean: exposed to air but occurring under the ground, as in a cavern.
MORPHOLOGIC ATTRIBUTES:
- Semicircular aperture: the entrances are roughly vertical and separated by a distance that is small compared to both the span and height, there is an arched lintel, and the base is roughly horizontal.
- Oval aperture (upright or prone): the entrances are roughly parallel (roughly vertical when upright; roughly horizontal when prone), roughly oval, and separated by a distance that is small compared to the span.
- Slotted aperture (upright or prone): the entrances are roughly parallel (roughly vertical when upright; roughly horizontal when prone), elongated and pointed at the ends, and separated by a distance that is small compared to the opening breadth.
- Cylindrical: the entrances are roughly vertical, are separated by a distance that is comparable to or larger than the span, and are connected by a hole that does not bend more than about 60°.
- L-shaped (upright or prone): the entrances are roughly perpendicular to each other (both roughly vertical when prone; the uppermost entrance roughly horizontal and the lower entrance roughly vertical when upright) and are connected by a hole that bends at an angle between about 60° and 120°.
- C-shaped (upright or prone): the entrances are roughly co-planar and vertical, are connected by a hole that bends at an angle greater than 120°, and are side-by-side (if prone) or one atop the other (if upright).
- U-shaped: the entrances are roughly co-planar and horizontal, and are connected by a hole that bends at about a 180 angle.
- Complex: the entrances are connected by a hole that has more than one distinct bend.
- Cavernous: light entering the opening, including diffused and reflected light, does not reach all parts of it, i.e., an observer can be positioned in the opening such that they are in total darkness during broad daylight.
- Arched: the underside of the lintel has an overall upward convex curvature such as a catenary or arch. - Flat: the top of the lintel is roughly horizontal and planar.
- Vertical lintel: the lintel is roughly aligned with the vertical.
- Massive lintel: the lintel is very large compared to the hole.
METRIC ATTRIBUTES
- Miniature: all opening dimensions are smaller than 1 meter.
- Minor: one or more opening dimensions are at least 1 meter.
- Significant: the product of any two opening dimensions is at least 10 square meters.
- Major: having a span of 50 meters or more.
GEOLOGIC ATTRIBUTES
- Rock type: type of rock (sandstone, limestone, granite, etc.) in which the natural arch occurs.
- Formation: name(s) of the geologic formation(s) in which the natural arch occurs.
- Member: name(s) of the geologic member(s) in which the natural arch occurs.
MATURITY ATTRIBUTES
- Young: clear evidence of formation mode is present, but little or no evidence is present that subsequent development has occurred.
- Adult: sufficient evidence of formation mode is present along with evidence of subsequent development.
- Old: evidence of formation mode is absent or inconclusive, but there is clear evidence of extensive subsequent development.
PROPPED NATURAL ARCHES AND HOW THEY FORM
The natural arch you see here is classified as a propped natural arch. This type of natural arch is frequently called a "jug handle" and is always projecting. However, the opening is an upright slotted aperture and the lintel (the part of the rock over the opening) is vertical, at least nearly so. It can form when a vertical joint occurs near the end of a rock projection. This joint need not be exactly vertical, or even straight. Indeed, it is frequently slanted and curved with a slight bow in the direction of the projection. The joint usually coincides with the face of the cliff at the interface between the projection and the cliff. Occasionally such a joint widens, usually due to freeze expansion (water gets into cracks in the rock, and the rock is pushed apart when the water expands as it freezes into ice) and thermal exfoliation (the rock cracks as it heats up or cools down due to the sun, lightning, or other temperature changes).
Compression strengthening does not play a significant role in the formation of this type of natural arch. Consequently, propped natural arches usually do not have long lives. Specifying a maturity attribute for this type of natural arch is seldom appropriate.
A NATURAL ARCH ON MARS?
Given the great difference in surface conditions between Earth and Mars, it should not be surprising that Mars is not abundant in natural arches. For one thing, many natural arches form on Earth as the result of water weathering rock structures. While Mars may have had water on its surface in the past, it no longer does. However, scientists have tentatively identified at least one natural arch on our red neighbor.
One week after it began operating in November 2006, the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter took the above image, which appears to show a natural arch that formed when most, but not all, of the roof of a lava tube collapsed in the Tartarus Colles region of Mars. Using the metric criteria above, it appears to be nearly a major ( > 50m span) arch.
Another view, taken by the HiRISE camera on the MRO:
Lava tubes form after a volcanic eruption. The top and sides of a lava flow will cool first, eventually forming a tube inside as lava continues to flow. When the eruption stops, the lava empties out, leaving a tube behind.
Compare the above image to a known natural arch over a lava tube in New Mexico:
While it's hard to tell how old the Martian feature is, scientists can guess it's pretty ancient. On Earth, lava tubes tend to collapse as gravity pulls the roof down. Arches that are more structurally stable last longer. In areas where only one arch remains over a lava tube, the arch is comparatively old. It should work the same on Mars, even with its lower gravity.
LOGGING THIS EARTHCACHE
To log this earthcache, email us or send us a message and copy and paste these questions, along with your answers. Please do not post the answers in your log, even if encrypted. There's no need to wait for confirmation from us before you log, but we will email you back if you include your email address in the message. Group answers are fine; just let us know who was with you.
1. The name of this earthcache: Planetary Geology on Earth: Buzzard's Roost
2. Observe the arch and the surrounding area. Using the standard attributes listed above, describe some attributes about this arch:
a. Contextual: we know this arch projects, because it has been classified as a propped arch. What, if any, other contextual attributes apply?
b. Morphologic: name at least two morphologic attributes that correctly describe this arch.
c. Metric - approximately how big do you estimate the opening? Based on that, which metric attribute applies?
3. Based on the photos and description of the possible natural arch on Mars, can you come up with any morphological or contextual attributes?
4. Add a photo of your visit to your "Found It" log, featuring yourself, your GPSr, or another personal item.
SOURCES
The material for this earthcache, including the photo and discussion on the possible Mars natural arch, was drawn from the wealth of research done on natural arches by the Natural Arch and Bridge Society.
A.C. Shead, "Some Natural Landmarks of Western Oklahoma," Vol. 47, Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, 1967 (incorrectly identifying the arch as "Hole-in-One" Rock).
Jesse James treasure info: Ken Raymond, NewsOK.com, "Treasure Hunters."