Stratum and Outcrops - The American River
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(other)
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in our disclaimer.
This is an EarthCache which means there's no cache container hidden here.
Please be respectful of the area and it's residents, big or small!
Please do NOT attempt this EarthCache at night! Observations are best done during the day when optimal lighting is available.
There is NO parking at the cache site! Parking coordinates can be found in the "Additional Waypoints" section below.
For this EarthCache we will be observing an rock outcrop. All logging requirements can be answered from the posted coordinates!
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum (plural: strata) is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers. The "stratum" is the fundamental unit in a stratigraphic column and forms the basis of the study of stratigraphy.
Characteristics of Stratum
Each layer is generally one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another, laid down by natural processes. They may extend over hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the Earth's surface. Strata are typically seen as bands of different colored or differently structured material exposed in cliffs, road cuts, quarries, and river banks. Individual bands may vary in thickness from a few millimeters to a kilometer or more. Each band represents a specific mode of deposition: river silt, beach sand, coal swamp, sand dune, lava bed, etc.
Outcrops
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be seen or examined closely. However, in places where the overlying cover is removed through erosion or tectonic uplift, the rock may be exposed, or crop out. Such exposure will happen most frequently in areas where erosion is rapid and exceeds the weathering rate such as on steep hillsides, mountain ridges and tops, river banks, and tectonically active areas. Bedrock and superficial deposits may also be exposed at the Earth's surface due to human excavations such as quarrying and building of transport routes.
LOGGING REQUIREMENTS:
Please answer the following questions, to your best ability, using the information above. When you feel you have them answered correctly, send me your answers via the Geocaching websites messaging feature, or through email. Any "Found It" logs without the requirements being sent in, will be deleted.
Please include the GC code of this cache and the number of people in your party in your message.
All questions can be answered from the posted coordinates.
1) How many separate strata can you identify in the outcrop?
2) What colors do you see within the outcrop?
3) Are the strata parallel to the nearby road, or perpendicular?
4) Think about the area. What could have caused this outcrop to be exposed?
5) This is NOT a requirement!!
Pictures are no longer allowed to be used as a logging requirement for EarthCaches, however, I highly encourage them, especially in an area as beautiful and interesting as this, but also because they help determine the validity of logs. If you feel like it, snap a few! (No spoilers! Pictures containing spoilers WILL be deleted!)
I hope you enjoyed this EarthCache and most of all, I hope you learned something new!
Sources: britannica.com, Wikipedia, study.com, Person Knowledge of Earth Science and Geology
Congrats to PhMJ for the FTF!
CAA4JN
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[Read the entire cache page for the best chances at completing the logging requirements correctly. Once you feel you have them all correct, send me your answers via the geocaching website's messaging feature or through email. If you need any help at all, you can contact me the same way.
All logging requirements can be answered from the posted coordinates at the top of this page.]
Qba'g sbetrg gb unir sha!