GC6CE5G Eastern Oklahoma Orogeny (Earthcache) in Oklahoma, United States created by mustangok1

GC6CE5G ▼

A cache by mustangok1 Message this owner

Hidden : 3/1/2016

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

This earthcache is located at the base of Cavanal, the World's Highest Hill, in Poteau, Oklahoma. It demonstrates the history of eastern Oklahoma through rock layers.

What is Orogeny?

Orogeny is the variety of processes that occur during mountain-building, including:

Deposition Patterns, Deformation, Folding and thrust-faulting, Metamorphism, Volcanic Activity, & Seismic Activity

This Earthcache is designed to demonstrate evidence of these processes.

These coordinates will take you to a hillside that has been excavated by the city of Poteau. In this hillside, one can clearly see several rock layers and geologic features:

1. Easily visible from the coordinates is a large area of rock folding and thrusting. The rocks appear pushed upward and twisted. This folding was caused by geologic processes that occurred in the area's ancient history.

2. At least three layers of rock are seen -
(a) a large area of black shale at the bottom of the site
(b) a band of limestone in the center
(c) and a top layer of sandstone and mudstone.

1. What specific geologic process caused the folding and thrusting of the rocks?
2. How can one explain the formation of shale, then limestone, then sandstone at this site? (Think about which came first and at what time periods)
3. The presence of limestone here indicates the terrain of eastern Oklahoma was once extraordinarily different than the terrain one sees today. What might this area have been like long ago?

Email answers to me for credit. You must be correct to log this cache. The cache difficulty rating is 3 based on the level of research you must do to obtain these answers. If you submit incorrect answers, I will email back to you and let you know what is wrong. You will have two days to correct your findings before your log is deleted.

To find information on the geologic history of Oklahoma, see this site.
Some good, basic information on rock formation can be found here.

Earthcaches are designed to demonstrate physical features of the world and impart scientific knowledge. For more information, please see www.earthcache.org.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

V thrff lbh'ir unq n ebpxl fgneg gb lbhe nffvtazrag,ru?

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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Eastern Oklahoma Orogeny EarthCache

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