ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST DISCOVERY SERIES
Each of the earthcaches in this series will take you along roads and trails
to discover the wonders that exist in and around the ANF.
Elk - Forest - McKean - Warren
This discovery series was developed as a heartfelt THANK YOU to all who completed the requirements as requested, and wrote positive logs worth the time to read. Complete 24 ECT caches. Send a list of logs (GL links) via message for verification of requirements. Arrange to meet at Cache Condo to pick up your trackable coin.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. ... "Geocachers must complete the tasks before they log the EarthCache as found." (4.3. EarthCache logging tasks)
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:
NOTE: Answers via message -and- log signature picture are required to post a find for this cache.
1. MESSAGE …. a. Size of opening (width) / b. How far does this opening extend? (depth) / c. Type of opening. Explain your choice.
2. MESSAGE …. a. There are rocks visible at this site. Compare the outside rock with the inside rocks. / b. Explain how this opening was formed.
3. MESSAGE …. a. Describe other evidence of erosion occurring. / b. Explain the effect on this rock structure.
4. LOG …. Post a picture at or near the coordinates. Post a picture of your discovery opening. These pictures are your log signature. No spoiler pics..
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and creating this earthcache by adding A B C to your log.
A. Discover another rock opening in/around the ANF, Give coordinates. Identify your rock opening and explain your choice. If you found your rock opening at a geocache/earthcache site, give name of the cache and GC number instead of cooordinates.
B. 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.
C. 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 ... prose / story / poem / picture. 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
THANK YOU LN for travelling and hiking with RT to complete this Earthcache Trail.
ROCK OPENINGS IN THE ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST
Rocks display a variety of openings within them. Throughout the forest, these openings are mainly the result of erosion or the movement of earth's tectonic plates. The native rocks iare sandstone (feels gritty), shale (smells like wet mud when moistened), conglomerate (pieces of other rocks), limestone (fizzes in vinegar).
"Some 445 million years ago, what is now the Allegheny National Forest was submerged beneath a shallow, inland sea. Over time, weathered material eroded from ancient mountains in eastern Pennsylvania and filled in the sea floor. These deposits left large rocky outcrops, known as Olean conglomerates, which are seen throughout the Allegheny National Forest today. Mud and sand was also deposited, burying microscopic marine life and creating the rich oil deposits by which Pennsylvania would later become so well known." ANF
Due to differential erosion, softer rock is eroded (openings) leaving the harder rock (walls).
SEARCHING FOR ROCK OPENINGS
CAVE - A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground large enough for a human to enter. Caves are exogene, meaning it is deeper than its opening is wide.
EROSIONAL CAVES - Most caves within the ANF are formed from the erosion of sandstone. Since there is little to no calcitic rock here, you will not find any solutional caves.
TECTONIC CAVES - Formed by a mass movement of the bedrock. The rocks separate along joints or fractures, and are pulled apart mechanically. The resulting cave is usually a high, narrow fissure that has nearly planar walls with matching patterns on opposite sides. Rock cities, a type of tectonic cave, are found within the ANF. "Rock Cities are an example of tectonic caves. "Rock cities develop from flat-lying, massive beds of resistant conglomerate or sandstone exposed on hilltops above much weaker beds of shale or siltstone. Widely spaced vertical fractures called joints outline the blocks. Erosion of the hillslope proceeds more rapidly in the weak beds than in the conglomerate, leaving it overhanging so the blocks eventually tumble. Frost heave and root-pry in the joints aid in the process, particularly in the early stages of separation. In time, some buildings may creep far from their source."
TALUS CAVES - Talus caves are formed between boulders that have naturally fallen into a random heap. They are usually small in size.
ROCK SHELTER ... aka rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri. Rock shelters are produced when the bedrock erosion takes place in insoluble rocks. Rock Shelters within the ANF are formed where the resistant sandstone overlies the relatively erosion-susceptible shale. Weathering by a stream might wear away the shale leaving behind a rock shelter with a sandstone roof. Shelters are endogene, meaning the opening is wider than its depth.
CAVITY - These are openings in rocks that are homes to a variety of small animals, but too small for humans to enter.
CREVICE - Long, tight space varying in size from large to small. Because it is usually hard to reach, it is a great hiding place for creatures such as reptiles and insects..
FISSURE - A crack in rock along which there is a distinct separation.
FRACTURE - Any separation that divides the rock into two or more pieces.
RESOURCES ... Geology of Caves ... Erosional/Glacial Caves ... Shelter Caves ... Tectonic caves ... Abri or Cave