Rocks and Asphalt (Black Diamond) Traditional Cache

Rocks and Asphalt (Black Diamond)

The Rocks and Asphalt here are examples of sedimentary processes to me. The rocks, mostly sandstone, having been formed naturally by layers pressured together. The manmade asphalt formed similarly. BYOP!

Are the asphalt pieces remnants from a Black Diamond platform around here?

At the bottom of this page you can find links to information about the Black Diamond Rail Road, which hauled coal, the black diamonds, and also passengers on special express trains between NY City and Buffalo.

One of the links shows a timetable, with no stops between Ithaca and Geneva. I wonder if they had short exclusion trains from Ithaca to Taughannock in the late 1800s? Which may account for the asphalt pieces?

Some of the rocks seem to have fossils in them, which is not surprising in sandstone.

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) mineral  particles or rock fragments. (A clast is a fragment of geological detritus, chunks and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks by physical weathering.)

Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because they are the most resistant minerals to weathering processes at the Earth's surface. Like uncemented sand, sandstone may be any color due to impurities within the minerals, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with certain regions.

Rock formations that are primarily composed of sandstone usually allow the percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs.

Fine-grained aquifers, such as sandstones, are better able to filter out pollutants from the surface than are rocks with cracks and crevices, such as limestone or other rocks fractured by seismic activity.

Sedimentary rock is formed when layers of sand,pebbles, and mud squash together and form a rock.

What Is Bluestone?

These days, bluestone is widely known as a popular choice for patio pavers and is often found in the architectural elements of buildings. In fact it is marketed under two names: the first being dimensional, which architects use for doorways, staircases, or windows; the second being flagstone, which is cut into slabs for patios and pathways. It is noted for its cool tones that feature blues, greys, and purples. Bluestone gets its colour from the different minerals that fossilized into the rock during formation.

Around 400 million years ago, there were myriad rivers that drained into a sea. Over millions more years, the seascape changed, as oceans began to recede and rivers changed their course. While all this was happening, there were life forms carried along and left where Pennsylvania and part of New York is today. These life forms were piled amongst other debris that eventually sank to the bottom, and fossilized as layers and layers built up. These layers turned into sedimentary rock and became what is now known as bluestone. This occurred specifically where the shallow rivers drained into the sea.

Bluestone is usually a kind of sandstone or limestone if it originates in the United States. Specifically, North American bluestone is usually quarried in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, and New York. Over 345 million years ago, small sand grains, as well as sea creatures like clams, were deposited in the Catskill Delta. There is also a limestone variety.

Bluestone & The Mystery Of Stonehenge

The difference between the Pennsylvanian and British bluestone is that while Pennsylvanian bluestone is a type of sedimentary rock, composed of layers, the bluestone in the United Kingdom is in fact a type of igneous rock, formed by hardened lava. Archaeologists use these clues to figure out how the stones got to be where they are today. They found a site approximately three kilometres away from Stonehenge where the bluestone was likely quarried.

Asphalt, also known as bitumen (UK), is a sticky, black, and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch.

The primary use (70%) of asphalt is in road construction, where it is used as the glue or binder mixed with aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt and for sealing flat roofs.

The terms "asphalt" and "bitumen" are often used interchangeably to mean both natural and manufactured forms of the substance.

In American English, "asphalt" (or "asphalt cement") is commonly used for a refined residue from the distillation process of selected crude oils. Outside the United States, the product is often called "bitumen", and geologists worldwide often prefer the term for the naturally occurring variety. Common colloquial usage often refers to various forms of asphalt as "tar", as in the name of the La Brea Tar Pits.

Naturally occurring asphalt is sometimes specified by the term "crude bitumen". Its viscosity is similar to that of cold molasses, while the material obtained from the fractional distillation of crude oil boiling at 525 °C (977 °F) is sometimes referred to as "refined bitumen". The Canadian province of Alberta has most of the world's reserves of natural asphalt in the Athabasca oil sands, which cover 142,000 square kilometres (55,000 sq mi), an area larger than England.

Rolled asphalt concrete

The largest use of asphalt is for making asphalt concrete for road surfaces; this accounts for approximately 85% of the asphalt consumed in the United States. Asphalt concrete pavement mixes are typically composed of 5% asphalt cement and 95% aggregates (stone, sand, and gravel). Due to its highly viscous nature, asphalt cement must be heated so it can be mixed with the aggregates at the asphalt mixing facility. The temperature required varies depending upon characteristics of the asphalt and the aggregates, but warm-mix asphalt technologies allow producers to reduce the temperature required. There are about 4,000 asphalt concrete mixing plants in the US, and a similar number in Europe.

When maintenance is performed on asphalt pavements, such as milling to remove a worn or damaged surface, the removed material can be returned to a facility for processing into new pavement mixtures. The asphalt in the removed material can be reactivated and put back to use in new pavement mixes. With some 95% of paved roads being constructed of or surfaced with asphalt, a substantial amount of asphalt pavement material is reclaimed each year. According to industry surveys conducted annually by the Federal Highway Administration and the National Asphalt Pavement Association, more than 99% of the asphalt removed each year from road surfaces during widening and resurfacing projects is reused as part of new pavements, roadbeds, shoulders and embankments.

Asphalt concrete paving is widely used in airports around the world. Due to the sturdiness and ability to be repaired quickly, it is widely used for runways.

Links with more information about the Black Diamond train:

More info from Wikipedia: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Diamond_(train)>

Here’s a link to information about the Black Diamond Express between Jersey City and Buffalo: <http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/lvblkdi.Html>

Here’s more, including a timetable showing that the you left Penn station, NYC at 10:55 AM you’d get to Ithaca at 6:03 PM, for a scheduled stop of 6 min.

<http://www.american-rails.com/black-diamond.html>

Links with more information  about area geology:

Here’s a link to the llenrock-earthcache:

<https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC19X0H_llenroc-earthcache?guid=e12ea5b9-8123-478e-b2a9-ba42bc5c7643>

Geological Sciences 101

Lab #3 - Stones and Stories of the Cornell Campus

<http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/classes/Geo101/sed/stones_f01.pdf>

The cache is a tied in, camoed, “micro” pill bottle that you have to push hard to open and close. It has the usual contents: rolled log, with a rubber band to hold it tightly rolled, and a zip locked tiny plastic bag. Please make sure any SWAG doesn’t interfere with closing the cap tightly. As always: BYOP