Endo/exogenic forces at the suspended temple EarthCache
Hidden : 8/3/2017
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:







[ENG] Xuan Kong Si is a temple built into a cliff of the Mount Heng at about 60 km from Datong in Shanxi. It was built more than 1500 years ago. The temple is notable not only for its location on a high cliff but also because it is the only existing temple with the combination of three Chinese traditional religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The structure is kept in place with oak crossbeams fitted into holes chiseled into the cliffs. The main supportive structure is hidden inside the bedrock. The monastery is located in the small canyon basin, and the body of the building hangs from the middle of the cliff under the prominent summit, protecting the temple from rain erosion and sunlight.

Every natural spot has an hystory of formation and evolution, and it is the result of the interaction between endogenic and exogenic forces of geological processes. Endogenic process is a force that originates inside the Earth and can change the shape of Earth surface. In the case of Mount Heng tectonic movements were its origin. Exogenic process is the force that originates outside the Earth crust (e.g. atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere) and can change the shape of the Earth surface and its rocks by weatering, erosion, gravitational collapse, transportation and accumulation. Here, the cliff of the Xuan Kong Si were formed by weatering and erosion of the water floods of the river. The Mount Heng was formed by block uplifting of sedimentary rocks. During uplifting local rock deformation and tilting are possible. The following erosion changed the shape in a little canyon with a sheer precipice where the temple was hanged up, revealing the nature of the rocks. Since the rocks here are sedimentary rocks, it means that also before uplifting exogenic forces acted on previous rocks by transportation, accumulation and sedimentation.


To log the cache you must send to the owner an email or a message with the answers to the following questions:
1) What's the differences between endogenic and exogenic geological forces?
2) Sedimentary rocks around the temple show a tilting. Is the tilting uniform from left to right? Can you explain why?
3) Estimate the inclination of the rocks at the listing coordinates (in degrees).
4) Upload a picture of the temple (updated earthcache guidelines 2019).

(Note: to enter the temple you must pay a fee, but to answer the questions is not necessary to enter the temple)


[CHN] 宣山寺是距离山西大同约六十公里的恒山悬崖内建造的一座寺庙。 它建于1500多年前。这座寺庙在高悬崖上的位置是值得注意的，也是因为它是唯一一个结合了三种中国传统宗教的寺庙：佛教，道教和儒家思想。将结构保持在适当位置，橡木横梁安装在凿入悬崖的孔中。主要支撑结构隐藏在基岩内。修道院位于小峡谷盆地，建筑物的身体悬挂在突出的山顶下方的悬崖上，保护寺庙免受雨水侵蚀和阳光照射。 每个自然现象都有一个形成和演化的障碍，它是地质过程的内生和外生力之间相互作用的结果。内源过程是一种起源于地球内部的力量，可以改变地球表面的形状。在恒山的情况下，构造运动是起源的。外源过程是源于地壳外的力量，可以通过编织，侵蚀，引力塌陷，运输和积累来改变地球表面及其岩石的形状。在这里，宣山寺的悬崖是由于河水洪水的侵蚀和侵蚀而形成的。 恒山由块状隆起而形成。在隆起期间，岩石的变形和倾斜是可能的。
以下的侵蚀改变了一个小峡谷的形状，一个清澈的悬崖，寺庙被悬挂，揭示了岩石的性质。由于这里的岩石是沉积岩，这意味着即使在提升的外生力作用于以前的岩石之前，运输，积累和沉积 要登录缓存，您必须向所有者发送电子邮件或消息，并回答以下问题：
1）内源性和外源性地质力量之间有什么区别？
2）寺庙周围的沉积岩显示出倾斜。从左到右倾斜制服吗？你能解释一下为什么吗？
3）估计列表坐标上岩石的倾角（以度为单位）
4）上传寺庙图片（可选） （注：进入寺庙你必须支付费用，但回答问题是不必要进入寺庙）

Source: Anze Chen, Yunting Lu, Young C.Y. Ng. The principle of Geotourism, Science Book Serie, Springer (May 2015), pp. 43 and 93.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Dhrfgvba 3 jvyy or rnfvre vafvqr gur grzcyr (ng gur ragenapr).

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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