TO LOG THIS EARTHCACHE SEND THE ANSWERS TO ME VIA MESSENGER
Welcome to South Mountain Woodlands Conservancy A Woodlands Retreat in the City of Allentown. Here you will find many of Hiking trails used by Hikers , Mountain Bikers, Dog Walkers and all around Nature Lovers , Let's not forget Geocachers. Your Mission if you choose to accept it is to Hike up to the Boulder outcrop and 2 larger boulders in an attempt to Answer some Questions. To log this Earthcache Email me the Answers do not post them in your log!!! South Mountain is a colloquial name applied to features in the mountain range extending north and northeast from the Lebanon Valley to the Lehigh Valley regions of Pennsylvania. At times, it also been known as Texter Mountain, Durham Hills, Reading Hills, and the Lehigh Mountains. It is called the Reading Prong by geologists. The name South Mountain is applied to the southernmost cluster of peaks in the feature, straddling Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties; and also to the northernmost end of the feature as the ridge into which Lehigh University is built. South Mountain borders Emmaus, just to the south of Allentown, and comprises a ridge of low mountains passing east of Reading and then extending nearly due west. It is a continuation of the New England Province and is the southern end of the Hudson Highlands. The ridge does not follow a straight line like Blue Mountain, located to the north. South Mountain ranges in elevation between 500 and 1,300 feet above sea level. The ridge is made of metamorphic rocks and gneiss, which date to the Precambrian era and range from about 570 to 1,600 million years old. South Mountain is largely undeveloped in its northern extension due to conservation efforts and its steep slope. This makes it a beautiful backdrop to the viewpoints of the Lehigh Valley, including, at night, the city lights of Allentown. The southern end of this feature extends west along U.S. Route 422 and the southeastern border of Berks County, providing views of Blue Mountain to the north, Mount Penn (which comprises part of the prong), and the city of Reading, to the east.
N 40° 32.781' W 75° 28.505' Waypoint 1 rock ! 1.Would you classify this as metamorphic , gneiss, sedimentary or Conglomerate Rock
2. What is the texture of the rock , what colors do you see ?
3. There is an Object on top of this rock , what is it doing , do you believe it will cause Damage to this Rock ?
Move along to rock 2, N 40° 32.777' W 75° 28.494' Waypoint 2 .
4. Is this rock the same composition as the other Rock ?
5. Standing at the Bottom of the Rock on the downhill side Estimate the Height of the Top of the rock ?
6.Which of the Rocks is Larger ?
7. From the above reading what era and how old are these Rocks ?
Move along to waypoint 3 N 40° 32.801' W 75° 28.552' The Out cropping... here you might find Rock climbers with their Crash pads climbing about the Boulders , this area is Heavily used with numerous fire pits covered by rocks in the area. No Questions here do to the High Muggle activity, just wanted you to see this area on the Trail back.
8.A new change to the guidelines allows me to require a photo. Take a picture of you or a personal item at the site.
