Arkansas provides many great opportunities to explore nature, as the "Natural State" you will not want to forget your camera, a walking stick, and a buddy or two to go out and enjoy nature.
In this Earth Cache lesson we are going to learn about the basic of geology and topography of Arkansas.
If you have been working on the Earth Caches on these trails you may have learned that limestone is a very versatile stone, but what about all the other minerals?
After completing this Earth Cache you will have a better understanding of:
- the three common categories that rocks are placed under
- in the difference between clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks
- the two regions that Arkansas is split into for rock classification
- the dramatic changes that occurred in Arkansas during the Paleozoic Era
Rocks are generally placed into 1 of 3 major categories:
- igneous-rocks have solidified from molten or partly molten mineral matter
- Metamorphic-rocks have been altered in the solid state from some pre-existing condition in response to significant changes in temperature, pressure, or chemical environment.
- Sedimentary-rocks are composed of particles of sediment, which are derived by the weathering and/or the erosion of pre-existing rock.
Most surficial rocks in Arkansas are sedimentary, but there are some igneous rocks (with adjacent contact metamorphic rocks) and very low grade regional metamorphic rocks in Arkansas also.
A sedimentary rock consists of two components: the particles and the cement that holds them together.
However, the unconsolidated sediments of eastern Arkansas are considered sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks are classified as clastic (rocks made up of grains of sand, silt, and clay) or chemical (rocks made up of shell fragments, saline water deposits, and other materials that are deposited from solution). The most common clastic sedimentary rocks are shales, siltstones, and sandstones. The most common chemical sedimentary rocks are limestone and dolostone.
To understand how sedimentary rocks form, we must account for the processes that create the original particles of sediment, the mechanisms of sediment transport, the processes of deposition or precipitation of a given sediment, and what has happened to the sediment over time. By studying rocks and depositional systems (the processes by which sediments are deposited), geologists recognize that most of the sedimentary rocks in the Paleozoic Highlands of Arkansas are marine. In the southern and eastern parts of the state, the sedimentary deposits are predominantly fluvial (fresh-water processes).
The exposures of igneous rocks in Arkansas are less than 0.1 percent of the entire area of the state. Most are exposed over 15 square miles, principally in Pulaski, Saline, Hot Spring, Garland, and Pike Counties. A few small igneous dikes and sills are present outside the Ouachita region, mostly in the Arkansas Valley, and in at least one case, in the Boston Mountains. Except for some localized contact metamorphism adjacent to the larger igneous intrusions, only very low grade metamorphic rocks are present in the state.
The rocks in the highland area are dominated by well-lithified sandstones, shales, limestones, and dolostones of Paleozoic age. A thin drape of younger unconsolidated clays, sands, and gravel, termed alluvium, is often found in valley floors and associated with the streams and rivers. The sedimentary deposits of the lowlands are mainly unconsolidated clay, sand, and gravel of Quaternary age, poorly consolidated deposits of clay, sand, silt, limestone, and lignite of Tertiary age, and consolidated (to a limited extent) deposits of Cretaceous marl, chalk, limestone, sand, and gravel (see Geologic Map of Arkansas below).
When most of the sediments that compose the rocks in the highland region of Arkansas were being deposited, north Arkansas was a shallow south-sloping sea floor (continental shelf), the Arkansas River Valley was near the edge of the shelf, and the Ouachita area was a deep abyssal plain (see General Geologic History).
An abyssal plain is the relatively smooth and deep (more than 3,000 feet below sea level) parts of the ocean floor where accumulating sediments have buried the pre-existing topography. In the late Paleozoic Era, a broad uplift domed the Ozark strata with little structural disruption. Simultaneously, a collision of two of the earth's mobile continental plates compressed the sediments of the abyssal plain into the Ouachita Mountains. This multimillion-year-long process folded and faulted the Ouachita strata into a structurally complex mountain chain. The Arkansas River Valley area is the transition zone between the structurally simple Ozarks and the structurally complex Ouachitas with subdued characteristics in each region.
Today, the rocks of the Ozarks tilt slightly to the south and have a dendritic drainage pattern. Since shales and siltstones erode faster than sandstones and limestones, the basic topography is flat-topped mountains with stepped flanks. By contrast, the topographic expression of the Ouachitas is controlled not only by the erosional resistance of the rocks, but also by their internal structure. The strata are complexly folded and frequently faulted. The mountains are mostly east-west-trending ridges supported by erosionally resistant rocks and separated by less resistant rocks. The Arkansas River Valley is characterized by much less intensely folded and faulted strata than the Ouachita region. Erosional processes left the synclines as mountains and the anticlines as valleys.
Did you Know?
Arkansas is divided into a highland area in the northwest and a lowland region in the south and east due to rapid folding and board lifting?
Requirements: (please do not put your answers in the log)
Now that we learned a little bit about commercial application of limestone, take a moment to study ground zero. With the information above, and information at GZ you should be able to answer the following questions. You have 24 hours to send me an email (found in my geocaching profile) with the correct answers. Failure to do so will result in the removal of your "Found it log". Please add the GC code and title in the subject line. If you are sending answers for multiple people in your group, please add all the names in your email to ensure they don't have their log deleted :) Photos with you/group of the area would be greatly appreciated.
1. What are the three major categories of Rocks and their definitions?
2. In your own words what is the difference between clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks?
3. At Ground Zero leads what two categories of Rock do you see?
4. This Earthcache is located in an area dominated by well-lithified sandstones, shales, limestones, and dolostone of Paleozoic age, what region is this Earthcache located in?
5. True or False Ground Zero is located in the deep abyssal plain.
Source: General Geology