False Klamath Cove EarthCache
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False Klamath Cove is located halfway between Crescent City and Klamath on the pacific coast. The posted coords will take you to a pulloff on Highway 101 where there is plenty of parking available. Once there you will see a great view of the seastacks below. I was vacationing here with my wife and we were both awed by the view in this particular area. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
A stack or seastack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by hydraulic action, which is the force of the sea or water crashing against the rock. The force of the water weakens cracks in the headland, causing them to later collapse, forming free-standing stacks and even a small island. Without the constant presence of water, stacks also form when a natural arch collapses under gravity, due to sub-aerial processes like wind erosion.
Essentially, a sea stack is like a very small island, and in some cases, sea stacks have actually started out as islands which have been worn away. Many migratory birds use sea stacks for nesting and shelter, appreciating their isolation and relative safety.
Portions of this coastline are underlain by what geologists call the Franciscan melange. The melange is composed of immense blocks of highly resistant rocks (chert, greenstone, and sandstone) within a matrix of softer, more easily eroded rock (mudstone). Here, the more resistant blocks survive the erosive power of the ocean to form the seastacks that you see just offshore. Seastacks are most commonly associated with the Franciscan melange.
To log this earthcache:
E-mail the answers, please do not post them in the log.
1. How long do you think it took for the largest sea stack there to be formed as you see it today?
2. Compare and contrast two of the sea stacks and explain, in your opinion the cause for their difference in appearance.
3. How many sea stacks do you see?
4. Optional: Take a picture of yourself or your party at the site (you'll probably want to anyway, this place is gorgeous) and post with your log.
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