Panama Rocks are open May through October. Guided group tours are available in the off-season by appointment only. Guided tours cost $10 per person and a minimum four reservations are required per tour.
THIS IS SEASONAL, BUT KEEPING IT ACTIVE FOR THOSE PLANNING A VISIT.
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 …. a. Identify the rocks making up the Panama Rock Formations. ... b. When were these rocks formed? ... c. Why did Panama Rocks survive the onslaught of the glaciers? ... d. What carved out the North-South ridge in Panama?
2. MESSAGE …. Using the Self-Guided Tour, travel along the marked trail.
Castle Rock / Mayflower / Eagle Claw / Fat Man's Misery / Pride Rock / Indian Fireplace / Devil's Den / Paradise Alley / Golden Gate / Tower of Babel / Sand Cave / Wigwam / Counterfeiters Den / Ice Cave Crevice / Covered Bridge / The Gap
Choose 6 pictures. Pics are in order of some of the above locations and others along/near the trail. Most are visible from the main trail, although some require exploration near the trail. Identify the location and explain what type of mechanical weathering caused this formation. Have fun!
3. 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
Wind your way around these massive boulders as you view the various formations. You will see evidence of the various types of mechanical weathering. Were those deep crevices a result of ice wedging or geologic fracturing? Was that a waterfall that cut the long crevice down through the tallest rocks? Is that slow drip responsible for the swirling pattern on the rock? Was there a windstorm that left those depressions in the rock? How far did those rocks tumble to land where they now rest? How long did it take those tree roots to break apart the rock? The variety of formations attest to the varied wonders of Earth Mother's processes to alter the landscape.
THANK YOU Jonathan Weston for permission to place this cache.
PANAMA ROCKS SCENIC PARK
http://www.panamarocks.com/geology-history/
"Panama Rocks is reputed to be one of the most extensive formations of glacier-cut, ocean-quartz conglomerate in the world, forming a ridge half a mile long. The history of the rock formations date back about 400 to 350 million years ago (Ma), during the Devonian period. To provide perspective on the age of these formations, it is believed that the first animals classified in the genus Homo appeared only 2Ma. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) are believed to have originated about 200,000 years ago."
During the Devonian, the landmass straddled the Equator and was a shallow inland sea known as the Appalachian Basin. Time and pressure worked to build up sediment, push out water and create the natural cement that formed the sedimentary rocks you see at this site. "This type of rock is known as "quartz-conglomerate", and it is sometimes referred to as "pudding stone” or "Panama Conglomerate." Stones embedded in this rock are oval and rather flat, due to the water action (wave action) they experienced when they were on those ancient beaches. The embedded stones are quartz (white), spar (pinkish amber) and flint (tan)."
The region experienced a variety of geological changes over time including uplift, fracturing, sediment deposition, and glaciation. Ridges called moraines marked the edge of these glaciers, which stopped just north of Panama Rocks. Evidence suggested the last glacier advanced as tounges of ice forming "fields of drumlins - asymmetric shaped elongated hills in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg. It is believed that these smaller ice flows helped carve out the North-South ridge in Panama, which exposed the layer of rock that is now Panama Rocks."
MECHANICAL WEATHERING
Mechanical weathering changes the physical appearance of the rock, but does not affect its composition. The main agents of mechanical weathering are temperature, wind, water, gravity, and pressure.
TEMPERATURE - Different minerals expand and contract at varying rates. Temperature changes occur in both day-night and seasonal cycles. Frost shattering or ice wedging is due to the expansion of ice.
WIND - The abrasive action of wind causes separation of rock particles from the parent rock.
WATER - The abrasive action of water also causes separation of rock particles from the parent rock.
GRAVITY - As rocks tumble downward, abrasion causes separation of rock particles from parent rock.
PRESSURE - Plants take root in cracks in rocks and wedge them open as they grow. Even large rocks can be split apart.
MECHANICAL WEATHERING - Scientific Terms
http://www.ehow.com/about_5417392_types-mechanical-weathering.html
FROST WEDGING (FREEZE-THAW) - "Water expands by 9 percent when it freezes. As it expands, it exerts up to 4.3 million pounds per square foot of pressure. Since water seeks low points, repeated freezing and thawing can lead to deep vertical fissures as cracks are extended downward. Cracks that allow entry of roots lead to similar wedging."
CRYSTAL FORMATION - "Crystal formation cracks rock in a similar way. Most water contains dissolved salts. When water in rock fissures evaporate, the salt concentration increases, which leads to crystallization. This occurs in arid regions where the humidity fluctuates widely, so that the salt can be redissolved and carried into new fissures."
UNLOADING AND EXFOLIATION - "Glacier weight compresses the rock beneath it. When the glacier finally melts, for example, at the start of an interglacial period, the rock expands from the reduction of pressure. This causes fracturing between the layers parallel to the Earth’s surface. The top layer breaks apart in sheets, or exfoliates, having no load above it at all. As the rock below is exposed, it too exfoliates."
THERMAL EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION - "Heating causes rock to expand. Cooling causes it to contract. The resulting cracking looks similar to frost wedging. Such wear is found where there are extremes in daily temperature. The moon has almost no atmosphere and no tectonic activity to weather the rock, and the temperature variation between day and night is 280 degrees C. Thermal expansion and contraction may therefore be the only form of weathering that occurs."
ABRASION - "Abrasion can be intense in both very dry and very wet regions. Dry regions have much abrasion because wind-driven particles tend to be dry and hard–effectively, it is a natural form of sandblasting. Obversely, the waves at the beach slowly grind river deposits against rock to produce sand."
GRAVITATIONAL IMPACT - "This form of weathering includes landslides and glaciers. Glaciers carry boulders along on their underside. These boulders grind away the earthen surface underneath. The resulting weathering is similar to that of a river."