Please do NOT post your answers in your log.
Otter Point is named after the erosion-resistant Jurassic Otter Point Formation. This location has excellent vertical exposures of layered mudstones. These mudstones were on the sea floor approximately 150 million years ago. They became compacted and tilted vertically when the mudstones were scaped off onto the continent as the Pacific plate moved north 500 miles along North America. The Otter Point Formation is considered complex and structurally complicated. It consists of folded and sheared sandstone, mudstone, conglomerate, volcanic material, blocks of greenstone and blue schist, red chert, and other rock types, some of which underwent light metamorphism. The volcanic rocks in this formation are considered the most erosion resistant. A variety of these materials are present at Otter Point and nearby offshore rocks.
This earthcache requires approximately .4 mile round-trip of hiking with 100 feet of elevation change to reach ground zero. There is no need to leave the trail to answer the below questions. Be aware of your surroundings and stay away from cliffs. Feel free to post your favorite picture of the area that shows no spoilers.
Please send a message with answers to the following questions:
1. The western vertical mudstone outcrop visible from ground zero has a wave-created erosional feature in it. What is it?
2. Is the material you are standing on the same or different from the vertical mudstone outcrop? If it is different, what type of material do you think it is?
Information for this earthcache was gathered from the following sources:
Roadside Geology of Oregon by Marli B. Miller
In Search of Ancient Oregon by Ellen Morris Bishop
The Ore Bin, State of Oregon, Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Ernest H. Lund
100 Hikes Oregon Coast & Coast Range by William L. Sullivan