Glaciers Movement and Deposit of Rocks EarthCache

! ! ! This is an Earth Cache which means there are no physical containers to be found. You will be taken to an unique location where you will need to read the following description to answer the questions at the end ! ! !

Things You Should Know

1. This Earth Cache is located on Beatty Park's Property but is located by going through Union Cemetery of Steubenville, Ohio.The coordinates for the entrance to the cemetery are N 40º 22.101 W 080º 37.978 This will lead you into the park, from there go to the parking coordinates and walk to the Earth Cache. Park only at Given coordinates. Do not park anywhere else. Parking elsewhere will compromise the cache.
2. Since this was on Beatty Parks property and could be reached close to the cemetery, I received permission from both places. So, I would like to thank Joe Benline head of Union cemetery and Lori Letherolf head of Parks and Recreation of Steubenville.
3. Rules for this cemetery : NO DOGS ALLOWED, no bicycles, no littering (what you bring in you take out), and respect your surroundings and others in the cemetery.
4. The cemetery is open dusk to dawn. This means not to be in the park 5 min before dusk or you will be locked in the cemetery and we do not want that to happen. So, plan your trip accordingly. It should not take much more than thirty minutes to view and answer the questions

In Ohio all three types of rocks are present : Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic

Igneous Rock

Igneous rocks are found well below the ground. Sometimes, they are referred to as "basement rocks." This type of rock forms when magma or lava cool down. They are capable of doing this well beneath the surface or out on the surface. A good example is when they are shot out of a volcano. They eventually cool and crystallize. Even though we do not see this type of rock often they have been drilled down to their layer.They can be found on the surface as pebbles. These igneous rocks came from Canada by glaciers that carried them southward and dropped in the Ohio region when the ice melted.

Sedimentary Rocks

This type of rock forms when tiny bits of sand,silt, and clay. The sediments are then moved by streams, glaciers, and wind. After this, they were left to settle in the Oceans, lakes, and land. They piled and piled on top of each other. Eventually, the bits of sand, silt, and clay compressed becoming sedimentary rocks. These rocks are visible by rivers, streams, and roads that have cut into the Earth's surface. Ohio's sedimentary rock types include the following: coal, limestone, sandstone, and shale.

Metamorphic Rock

This type of rock is found deep beneath the Earth's surface. Metamorphic rocks are a result of rocks that have changed due to heat and pressure. You can think of this rock meaning change. Just like a caterpillar metamorphose into a butterfly. Most of the metamorphic rocks in this area were brought up to the surface and moved by glaciers.

Glaciers

A glacier is formed as a mass of ice when temperatures are cold enough for snow to accumulate on the Earth's water throughout the year for several years in a row. Continental Glaciers form when there is a significant cooling of temperatures on the Earth. This allows ice to accumulate in the high northern and southern latitudes. As the glaciers form and start moving. they scrape and pluck at the rocks and other sediments and leave them where they are at when the glacier begins to melt.

The Illionian glacier came around 300,000 years ago. It went the furthest south of the past four glaciers. The most recent glacier was the Wisconsian Glacier. It came about 24,000 year ago from Canada. It came into Ohio and did not begin to retreat until 18,000 years ago. It was out of the area by 14,000 years ago.

Movement of Glacial Erratic

At first, erratics were believed to have been deposited as a result of water in the great floods of the Earth. It took some time but eventually science/geology began to accept the possibility of the erratics being brought to a spot that they had no relation to by the movement of ice during the Ice Ages of the Earth.

Erratic simply means "large mass of rock that has been moved by a glacier of ice." In common terms of Geology, erratics are rock material that has been moved from one location to another. It can be either a short distance or one of several miles away. Glaciers took out pieces of the bedrock as they moved across an area. This process is known as plucking. As glaciers moved, they would pick up debris that gouged the rock surface below the glacier. It is similar to taking a piece of sand paper and sanding the bark off a tree.

The most resent glacial move that came trough Ohio was about 24,000 to 14,000 years ago. The name of this formation that came from Canada is called the Wisconsian Ice Age.Glacial erratics for the most part are various sizes of rocks that were transported by glaciers at one point or another to get to where they are located now. They get their name due to the fact that they do not normally match the rock area they are at now.

 Geologist identify erratics from the study of the rocks around the erratic. Erratics are quite significant because of the following

1. They are able to be transported by glaciers. They also give a history of glacial movement. Their origin can be traced back to the base or parent rock. This allows for precise confirmation of ice flow.
2. They can be transported by what is known as ice rafting. This is done by debris and rocks being dropped by the ice because it has reached a flood area. Here,the ice breaks apart causing dams and eventual melting of the ice. After this happens, all of the sediments and rocks are left at the ice jam.
3. Erratics dropped by an ice bergs usually take place in large bodies of water. These give geologist knowledge of Anartic and Arctic glacier movement.

There are a couple of ways an erratic can form. This particular one the boulder falling on top of the glacier as the bedrock below. This allows the rocks on top to fall atop the glacier. Here are some of types of formation

1. Monolithologic Composition - boulders of a similar make and found close together
2. Angularity - the erratic transported is rough and not regular
3. Great Size - size of boulders are skewed to being large
4. Surfical Positioning of the Boulders - the boulders are on top of the glacier and not in the debris beneath the glacier
5. Restricted Areal Extents - boulder fields have little if any areal extent
6. Orientations - boulders can be close enough that planes can be matched
7. Location of the Boulder Trains - boulders appear in rows drawing a similarity of a train

In order to get full credit of this Earth Cache, go to the parking coordinates and walk to the given coordinates. It is a short walk to and from. Do not put any answer to the question in your log. Message or email the answers to me. You will have 1 week to provide the answer to the question to me. If these things are not met your log will be deleted.

1. What type of rock class are these boulders?
2. What happens when a glacier starts to retreat?
3. Were these boulders on top or bottom of the glacier or were they even on a glacier at all? When looking at the boulders what characteristic tells you where they were located and how they came here?
4. Describe the characteristics of the 2 boulders. What proves they are or are not glacial erratic?

Take pictures if you desire knowing they are not a requirement for this Earth Cache.