Fossil Hunt EarthCache

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rainbowtree: DO NOT post a log to this cache, even backdated. Your log will be immediately deleted.
A special thank you to those who completed all the requirements as requested -and- added A B C to your log.

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Hidden : 7/1/2017
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

DO NOT climb up the bank. There are plenty of fossils at ground level.
DO NOT collect any fossils. Be courteous to other searchers by leaving them for others to find.

McKean County
Enjoy the wonders that abound within this county.

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 :-) or EMAIL …. Find four fossils. ... a. Describe them. Alternatively, you may post pics of your finds as part of your log. ... b. Describe where you found each one. EXAMPLE - 5' to the right of coords when facing the bank.

2. MESSAGE :-) or EMAIL …. Like a geocache, this is a hunt in a high muggle area. Use stealth and return exactly as we placed it. Most of the fossils are brachiopods and trilobites. However, Len found something else. After taking a picture, we hid it for you to find. ... a. Where is it hidden? ... b. Describe both the number and size of the fossils. ... c. Identify the fossils. ... d. Identify the type. ... e. Identify the fossilization. ... NOTE: Use hints if you need help finding and/or identifying..

3. MESSAGE :-) or EMAIL …. Describe the shale outcrop.

OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and creating this earthcache by adding ABC to your log.

A. Post a picture at or near the posted coords. This picture is your log signature verifying that you were at the earthcache.

B. 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.

C. 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.

THANK YOU Knapaholic for advising me of this location.


FOSSIL SITE
This area was once covered by a warm, shallow sea. Organisms that died were buried under tons of sediment, many becoming fossilized. Since most of McKean County was left unglaciated, these fossils were not destroyed by the grinding action of the glaciers. This is a shale bank embedded predominantly with fossil molds. The most common fossils are two arthropods - brachiopods and trilobites. This is among the most accessible places to hunt fossils that we have encountered. Have fun -and- Happy fossil hunting!


Look underneath to find the special fossil.

FOSSILS - Fossils are the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism.

TYPES - There are FOUR main types of fossils.
TRUE FORM - actual animal or animal part.
MOLD - impression
CAST - formed when a mold is filled in
TRACE - evidence left by the organism like burrows, footprints, etc.

FOSSILIZATION - There are SIX ways that organisms turn into fossils.
UNALTERED - insects trapped in amber (hardened form of tree sap
PERMINERALIZATION and PETRIFICATION - minerals replace the tissues
REPLACEMENT - minerals replace the hard parts
CARBONIZATION - only the carbon remains
RECRYSTALIZATION - small crystals turn into larger crystals
AUTHIGENIC - molds and casts that have been destroyed or dissolved

MUDSTONES AND SHALE
"Mudstones and shales are made of silt- and clay-sized particles that are too small to see. The only difference between mudstone and shale is that mudstones break into blocky pieces, whereas shales break into thin chips with roughly parallel tops and bottoms. Both are made of ancient mud." Mudstones are subdivided into siltstone (feels gritty) and claystone (feels smooth). http://www.pitt.edu/~cejones/GeoImages/5SedimentaryRocks/ClasticSedRocks/MudstonesShales1.html

SHALE (Compacted mud)
-Shale is a fine-grained, clastic (fragments) sedimentary rock. It is made of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny silt-sized particles of other minerals. The color is typically gray. Shale is characterized by parallel layering less than one centimeter in thickness. The process in the rock cycle which forms shale is called compaction.
-Shale is a hardened, compacted clay or silty clay that commonly breaks along bedding planes. It can be fairly thick, or as thin as paper. Shales are easily eroded or worn away. When shales weather, they form clays or muds. The particle size is less than 1/256 mm.
-The best exposures are found beneath ledges of harder more resistant rocks. Most shales are soft enough to be cut with a knife and can be very brittle. They are usually gray, but black, green, red or buff shales are also common. Shale and clay make up about 80% of the sedimentary rocks of the Earth's crust.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE - Shale may be black, gray, red, brown, dark green, or blue. It is fine grained, so particles usually can not be seen. When moistened, shale usually smells like wet mud.
WHAT MINERALS MAKE UP THE ROCK - Clay minerals; Sometimes with some quartz sand, pyrite, gypsum
HOW WAS IT FORMED - Clay sediments settle in quiet lakes, lagoons, bays, or off-shore areas. When buried and compacted the clays become shale. Iron oxides often help to cement the particles together.

TYPES OF SHALE
BLACK - lots of organics
GRAY - low organics
RED - fully oxidized iron
GREEN - partially reduced iron
MCCREADY - salt and gypsum

RESOURCES
Pennsylvania and the Ice Age
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_014595.pdf
Common Fossils of Pennsylvania
http://panaturekids.com/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_014599~2.pdf

ADDITIONAL FOSSIL SITES
1. http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/index.htm
2. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Wandering+Woodsman+Fossils
3. Caesar Creek Visitor Center - 4020 N Clarksville Rd - Waynesville OH 45068 ... Before collecting at the spillway, you must obtain a fossil collecting permit at the Visitor Center.
4. FOSSIL PLANTS ... G72 Fossil plants from the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania http://www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/topogeo/publications/pgspub/general/index.htm ... Fossil Guy http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/ambridge/index.htm N 40° 35.371 W 080° 13.765 ... http://readinganthracite.com/contact/ Need a permit to search for fossils.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Pybfr gb gur pbbeqf ... oruvaq n ebpx. Frr Pbzzba Sbffvyf bs Craaflyinavn. Gur sbffvyf ner P _ _ _ _ _ _ F _ _ _ _.

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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