Elbow Cave Geology
Karst topography is abundant in central Boone county due to exposures of Mississippian era rock formed 375 to 325 million years ago. At that time, Missouri was located near the equator and consisted of shallow, warm seas. The waters eventually drained dooming a thriving ecosystem. The remains of those lifeforms along with sediment, after millions of years of pressure and dehydration, came to form Burlington limestone.
Burlington Limestone, by its very nature, lends itself well to cave formation. The primary component of this rock is easily soluble calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Flowing streams and creeks, over time, took advantage of weaknesses in the stone and began eroding underground caverns. The process is slow as water entering a cave is already saturated with calcium carbonate. In the case of Elbow Cave, the eroding fluid created a passage inside that takes a sharp turn that gives the formation its name.
EarthCache Challenge 101
In order to claim this cache as found, no questions need to be answered! Instead, you must locate and complete one hundred and one EarthCaches (i.e. log them as found online). The details are as follows:
- Complete and log online 101 EarthCaches.
- Do not post a bookmark list or a list of all caches that qualify; Unitzoid will check your profile page for verification.
- EarthCaches you have created do not count toward the total.
- Signing the log at the given coordinates is required.
- Finding the geocache before completion is allowed; however, the online log must be a note until the challenge is completed.
Good luck, and enjoy learning more about our planet!
Permission to place this geocache was provided by Lida Gouchenour of the City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department.