Cattaraugus County
Enjoy the wonders that abound within these Enchanted Mountains.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
1. MESSAGE …. Why is this area called a rock city?
2. MESSAGE …. Along the corridor you will find six of the features pictured. Put them in order and identify the process that formed them. Pic B is found at the top (not part of the corridor) before you descend to the posted coordinates. It shows the conglomerate rock that makes up this rock city.
3. MESSAGE …. Explore the streets beyond the above corridor of Rock City to discover how water has sculpted these rocks. ... a. Find one example of cross-bedding / wave action / running water / falling water (precipitation). ... b. Identify where you made each find using either map numbers or coordinates. ... c. Explain why it is an example of cross-bedding / wave action / running water / falling water (precipitation).
4. LOG …. Post a picture of you or your signature item at or near the coordinates. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in creating this earthcache by adding A and B to your log.
A. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
B. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
THANK YOU Dr. Ovidiu D. Franţescu @ Pitt Bradford for your help with this earthcache.
THANK YOU LN for travelling and hiking with RT to develop this earthcache.
ROCK CITY
Little Rock City is at the end of Rock City Forest Road and consists of a unique area of large boulders. Little Rock City formed on a beach at the edge of a shallow sea during the late Devonian 370 million years ago. Both erosion and uplift combined to create the large boulders you see. Release of pressure during erosion caused the conglomerate to expand and crack along joints. Horizontal compression during uplift caused cracks along perpendicular lines. Weathering widened the pathways separating the blocks resulting in rocks arranged like carefully planned city streets.
1 Table Top ... 2 Begin Wall Street ... 3 Tree Bridge ... 4 ? Tree ... 5 End Wall Street ... 6 Entrance to Broadway ... 7 Inscription Grotto ... 8 End of Broadway ... 9 Trail Intersection ... 10 Slab Shelter ... 11 Leaning Rock Shelter ... 12 Birch Root Ladder ... 13 The Courtyard ... 14 Courtyard Shelter ... 15 Big Subway ... 16 Little Subway ... 17 Boxwork Wall ... 18 Abstract Gallery ... 19 Dark Alley ... 20 Rockefeller Root Alley ... 21 Rockefeller Plaza ... 22 The Narrows ... 23 Slab City - a suburb
WATER SCULPTING
The beach was a vast expanse of sand with milky white quartz pebbles scattered throughout. The pebbles are flattened indicating it was a high energy beach environment. Each wave caused the pebbles to slide against each other weathering them to flat surfaces. Naturally occurring silica cement and compaction from overlying sediments turned the beach into rock. Sediment that formed these rocks was moved by two methods - rivers flowing down the Acadian Mountains and ocean currents along the shore. Because waves washed the sediment from different directions, cross-bedding (horizontal rocks above/below slanted rocks) can be observed in some of the rocks.
Cross-Bedding - horizontal rocks above/below slanted rocks caused by wave action from different directions
Wave Action - abrasive action of back-and-forth moving water causing separation of rock particles from the parent rock
Running Water - abrasive action of horizontal moving water causing separation of rock particles from the parent rock
Falling Water (precipitation) - abrasive action of vertical moving water causing separation of rock particles from the parent rock
DIFFERENTIAL EROSION
Although all the rocks are conglomerates, they vary in their patterns and features. The cement holding the pebbles in place is not of uniform strength. Due to weathering, the weaker cement is removed along with the pebbles held by it. Mechanical weathering by both wind and water is responsible for the depressions and varied textures. Ancient wave action is evident in the rock. Tree roots cling to the rock surface, leaving behind their presence after decay. Different forms of iron and manganese staining, as well as iron cementation, result in color variations.
RESOURCES
http://enchantedmountains.com/place/little-rock-city
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/77184.html
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/administration_pdf/0205geocache.pdf
http://rtpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/RTPI-Natural-History-Atlas-natural-sites-Allegheny-region.pdf