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 …. Describe the difference between the sedimentary and metavolcanic rocks at this outcrop.
2. MESSAGE …. Which rock fragments are the youngest? Explain.
3. LOG …. Post a picture at or near the coordinates. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and 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.
THANK YOU Mark W. Carter for permission to use your book for this earthcache.
THANK YOU Lillian for permission to place this earthcache along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
OUTCROP
"Conglomerate of the Grandfather Mountain Formation is exposed here. The rock is made up of different size fragments of pre-existing rock, including rounded cobbles up to six inches long. Most of the larger cobbles and pebbles are composed of quartz or metavolcanic rock."
GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN FORMATION
Conglomerate, sandstone, and siltstone (sedimentary) are interbedded with basalt and rhyolite (igneous). This formation is between 3,000 and 9,000 m thick and is exposed only within the Grandfather Mountain window in the Blue Ridge province of North Carolina. Radiometric age determinations, stratigraphic position, and a lack of fossils suggest a late Precambrian age of about 800 to 900 m.y.
CONGLOMERATE
Conglomerate is a sedimentary rock made of rounded pebbles and sand cemented together by silica, calcite or iron oxide. The rock here is made up of different size fragments of pre-existing rock. Most of the large cobbles and pebbles are composed of quartz or metavolcanic rock.
METAVOLCANIC ROCK
Metavolcanic rock is a type of metamorphic rock. It was first produced by a volcano, either as lava or tephra (Igneous). Then, the rock was buried underneath subsequent rock, was subjected to high pressures and temperatures, and finally recrystallizing (Metamorphic).
RESOURCES
A Geologic Adventure Along The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina by Carter/Merschat/Wilson ... 2001
http://jsedres.geoscienceworld.org/content/47/2/800