Experience this EarthCache
Welcome to the University of Cincinnati! The large brick building in front of you (with the tunnel) is the Geology/Physics Building, home to the UC Department of Geology. At this spot you will also notice a tall narrow sign with six colored panels. It is labeled “Passport to Discovery”. This is essentially a roadmap to the different exhibits hosted on the University Campus right now. Of interest to Earthcachers are the Big Bone Lick and Cincinnati Under the Sea exhibits. These exhibits are free and open to the public. If you have time, I highly recommend them. Cincinnati Under the Sea is on the 3rd floor of the Geology Physics Building, and the Big Bone Lick exhibit is on the 2nd floor of the Braunstein Building, the large brick building to your left.
While these tours are fantastic, I actually brought you here to look at some very old logs, right behind you. Turn around and look at the patch of bushes surrounded by concrete. You might notice some very large stumps, all reddish brown and color and hard as a rock. That’s because they are rocks! These rocks come from the western United States, but are a great example of a type of fossil we don’t see very often in Cincinnati.
These are petrified logs, and are no longer made of wood. Many years ago, these trees died and were buried by oxygen-deprived sediment. Mineral-rich water flowed through little pores in the wood. The different elements in the water combined and formed minerals that crystallized in the pores of the wood. Eventually, the wood itself rotted away, but the crystallized minerals remain. This process gives the wood a rock-like texture, and a multi-colored appearance.
* Source research and text by LtStabos.
Logging Requirement:
Once you log this Earthcache as "FOUND" please message us the answer to the following question within 1 hour.
- Choose one of the logs. How wide is this log? How tall is the log?
- What features can you identify that resemble the original wood structure?
GeoTour Question:
For your GeoTrail Passport you will need to collect the following answer.
- Using the sign at the Earthcache coordinates, finish this exhibit title: “Big Bone Lick: a place of _________”.
To access the Earthcaching 101 GeoTour Digitial Passport: CLICK HERE.
EarthCaching 101 GeoTour Locations:
- ECGT A Walk Through Time (GC7P5RE)
- ECGT Rocks of Fountain Square (GC7P5RG)
- ECGT Ohio River Flood Gauge (GC7P5RJ)
- ECGT Very Old Logs (GC7P5RM)
- ECGT Mount Adams Landslide Hazard (GC7P5RN)
- ECGT Cincinnati River Valleys (GC7P5RQ)
- ECGT "Glacial Erratic" (GC7P5RT)
- ECGT Pervious Pavement (GC7P5RW)
- ECGT Forest Avenue Wetland (GC7P5RZ)
- ECGT Cincinnati Fossils and Stratigraphy (GC7P5T1)
