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 …. a. How much time did you spend searching for fossils? / b. How many did you find?
2. MESSAGE …. a. Describe the matrix (rock). / b. What tools (if any) did you use?
3. MESSAGE …. Based on your observations and search of the fossil pit, what fossils did you find? If needed, use the pic to identify your fossils.
4. LOG …. Post a picture of one of your finds. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in 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.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
MATRIX
The rock the fossils are embedded in is called the matrix. This can vary from soft to hard. SOFT - you can use your fingers and a brush to extract the fossils. HARD - use of a tool is needed to extract the fossils.
This site was recently named one of the 30 Most Impressive Fossil Sites in North America.
During the Middle Devonian, a mountain building phase began when Avalon (ancient) collided into eastern North America (modern). This collision created the Acadian Mountain range. Rivers filled with sediments flowed into the Catskill Basin at the base of the mountains. The basin was flooded by the Kaskaskia Sea, which covered many states east of the Mississippi down to the gulf of Mexico.
Fossils found in the Montour Preserve’s Fossil Pit originated from creatures that lived in the Devonian Period, roughly 395 million years ago. At that time, much of Pennsylvania was covered by warm, shallow seas. These sediments accumulated and formed the rock layers (limestone or shale) seen today. The fossils found at the Montour Preserve come from a time roughly 116 million years before the rise of the dinosaurs.
ROCK-WATER RELATIONSHIP
The most common method of fossilization is called permineralization, or petrification. After an organism's soft tissues decay in sediment, the hard parts are left behind. Water seeps into the remains, and minerals dissolved in the water seep into the spaces within the remains, where they form crystals. These crystallized minerals cause the remains to harden along with the encasing sedimentary rock.
In another fossilization process, called replacement, the minerals in groundwater replace the minerals that make up the bodily remains after the water completely dissolves the original hard parts of the organism.
RESOURCES
http://montourpreserve.org/fossil-pit/
Fossil Guy http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/18mile/index.htm
ADDITIONAL FOSSILS ... N 40° 34.378' W 79° 47.278' ... ONLY for avid fossil hunters Pennsylvania Geology ... Fossils at Allegheny County Roadcut - pages 10-15 Allegheny Valley Expressway PA 28, between the Cheswick 12 and Creighton 13 exits ... "Those interested in visiting this locality should be aware that Pa. Route 28 is a highspeed, four-lane divided highway similar to an interstate highway. EXTREME CAUTION should be exercised in parking and walking on the road, and especially in crossing the highway. Parking is available on the wide shoulders, and cars should be pulled as far off the side of the road as possible."
YouTube Log ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94FWM1Hefwo