There is a fee to park at the Nature Center. Hiking the Glen is free.
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. Name and describe the fossil embedded in the cliff at the posted coordinates. ... b. Identify type of fossil.
2. MESSAGE …. Find another fossil. ... a. On which trail did you find it? ... b. Name and describe it. ... c. Identify type of fossil. .
3. LOG .... Post a picture of you or your signature item with the fossil you found. This picture is your log signature.
TRAIL MAP ... https://www.niagaraparks.com/media/2017/07/Niagara-Glen-Trail-Map-2017.pdf
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
OPTIONAL - Get the Photo Scavenger Hunt inside the Nature Center. a. How many of the 12 items did you find? / b. List them. / c. Post a pic of your favorite item.
OPTIONAL - Participate in the educational program within the Nature Center. Earn points for rocks/minerals/fossils you bring in. Redeem those points for your choice of the wide variety of specimens available on display.
THANK YOU NIAGARA PARKS for permission to share this learning adventure.
You are welcome to find the additional fossil by visiting the Discovery "Dig" .
Horn Coral - Discovery "Dig" Inside the Nature Center
NIAGARA GLEN
The Silurian Period occurred between 444-419 million years ago. During this time, most of the land was covered by warm, shallow seas and massive coral reefs. Most of the rock in the Niagara Glen was formed during this timespan.
Sediment was deposited, which eventually became the sedimentary rock in the Niagara Glen. Embedded within this rock are many fossils of organisms that inhabited this marine environment. They include "ancient species of coral, sea lilies, nautiloids (related to squids and octopus), trilobites, and sea scorpions (related to horseshow crabs).
FOSSILS - Fossils are the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism.
TYPES - There are FOUR main types of fossils.
TRUE FORM - actual animal or animal part.
MOLD - impression
CAST - formed when a mold is filled in
TRACE - evidence left by the organism like burrows, footprints, etc.
FOSSILIZATION - There are SIX ways that organisms turn into fossils.
UNALTERED - insects trapped in amber (hardened form of tree sap
PERMINERALIZATION and PETRIFICATION - minerals replace the tissues
REPLACEMENT - minerals replace the hard parts
CARBONIZATION - only the carbon remains
RECRYSTALIZATION - small crystals turn into larger crystals
AUTHIGENIC - molds and casts that have been destroyed or dissolved
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.
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
Niagara Glen Natural History Pamphlet
https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit/nature-garden/niagara-glen-nature-centre/