Putney's Ancient Volcano EarthCache
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An Earthcache in the Beatrice Aiken Conservation Site. Please respect the area, stay on the Blue Trail, and as always, take nothing but photos, and leave only footprints. Posted coordinates are for parking – there’s room for 2 or 3 small cars.
To claim a find, please email me the answers to the questions below, and put the cache name in the subject line.
Answers can be found on site, in the brochure at the kiosk, and with a little careful reading below.
1: How are Metavolcanic rocks formed?
2: Stop 3 - The Weeping Cliff - What directions do the rock layers point, as you see them?
3: Stop 8 - The Spring Box – How does water come out of these rock layers? (One or two words will do!)
SITE INFO:
This area was given to the town by Putney resident Sen. George D. Aiken in memory of his first wife Beatrice, as a preserve for wildflowers and birds. It was recently opened to the public by the Putney Conservation Commission. The loop trail is only about .5 mi. long, but steep at first. The information below is courtesy of Dummerston geologist Dr. John Warren, and the Putney Conservation Commission. Brochures written by Dr. Warren are available in the mailbox at the Kiosk at Stop 1 with much more information.
A BRIEF SUMMARY: A VERY long time ago, a volcano erupted here – multiple times. The fallout ash fell into an ancient ocean, mixed with sediment there, and helped form the metavolcanic rocks you see now. In geology, metavolcanic rock is a type of metamorphic rock. These rocks were first produced by a volcano, either as lava or tephra. Then, the rock was buried underneath subsequent rock and was subjected to high pressures and temperatures, causing the rock to recrystallize. Over time, and the constant activity of the earths' crust, they were thrust upwards from horizontal to vertical, and the very type of rock changed, or metamorphized.
Numbered posts along the trail show the many sites of interest, among them:
STOP 1 The Kiosk, and mailbox with brochures and the info you need
STOP 2 Along the Road – (continue North for another 50’ or so to reach the Trailhead and the Weeping Cliff)
STOP 3 The Weeping Cliff – “the great cataclysmic eruption of the Putney Volcano; a very thick unit, all metavolcanics.” (just above the trailhead)
STOP 7 Bedding vs. Foliation - no question to answer here, but an interesting site. You can see more of the layers of former sand, which turned to rock, uplifted and shifted, to leave the zig-zag stripes that are very unusual.
STOP 8 The Spring Box - Since the 1800's, spring water has been piped to roadside containers for use by local residents. This one is no longer in use, but you can see how the water comes out of the seemingly solid bedrock through fractures and joints in the rocks. Several of these fractures are visible in the wall behind the pool, under the big tree stump.
Additional Hints
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Treasures
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