Answers are required for your find to remain. Please submit your answers as soon as possible, following your visit, when internet connectivity is feasible. I know that it is challenging inside the park. However, if you are able to log your find, you are also able to e-mail me your information.
8-6-15: Difficulty increased to 3, due to the number of incorrect answers I have received for question #4.
I've been coming here annually for the last few years, and was surprised to not see an Earthcache published. To reach this location, you must travel through the Trail of the Cedars. From the tall trees to the Middle Earth appearance of the forest floor, Trail of the Cedars is a wonderfully casual meander through some much appreciated shade. With moss covered walls, and this absolutely incredible water feature at about the midway point, you will be hard pressed to not walk way with appreciation for the beauty.
f you are able and willing, at the back of the loop, just past the gorge, is the trail head to Avalanche Lake. The hike is a 4-mile round-trip moderate hike, and well worth the time. For pictures, plan to arrive at the lake with 15-20 minutes before the sun sets, and you will be amazed. Take in the sights, learn a few things, and enjoy yourselves.
At the time of this most recent visit, the snow melt and glacial melt made Avalanche Creek absolutely rage compared to previous years. It was loud, and amazing, as the water would crash into the walls in such violent ways, spraying a fine mist high into the air.
Part of what is known as the Belt Supergroup, the rock formations that make up Avalanche Lake, and also Avalanche Gorge, as well as Glacier National Park as a whole, falls into this particular supergroup. The makeup of this area, is a formation known as argilite. Argilite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes, that contain variable amounts of silt-sized particles.
The Belt Supergroup itself, is further divided into four groups, listed below, youngest to oldest:
Missoula Group - More fluvial deposition of sands and muds, similar to the Rivalli group but from the south
Piegan Group (Middle Belt Carbonate) - Carbonate muds alternating with lamina of clastic muds
Ravalli Group - Subaerial-deposited sands and muds, mostly fluvial, also from the southwest
Lower Belt - Heterogeneous coarse to fine grained, clastic to carbonate rocks, mostly subaqueous, deep water deposition, with sediments derived from the southwest, with common mafic sills
Logging requirements:
1. Tell me about what you see in the makeup of the gorge itself. Specifically, the landscape of the gorge, and immediate area.
2. Describe the changes that the rushing waters have had on exposed surfaces, and how long you think it took to get this way.
3. Tell me what colors you see in the argilite itself. There are only a few predominant colors that stand out.
4. Identify which of the four groups within the Belt Supergroup, you think Avalanche Gorge is part of. The descriptions of the various groups will provide the needed clues, so look closely, and the answer should come to you.
Sources - Wikipedia, NPS
Congratulations to magashi for her FTF!