Welcome to the Breaks Interstate Park. This Earthcache will be along the Geological Trail, one of the most scenic trails in the park. While hiking here, at trail marker #26, you will discover quartz rock embedded into sandstone.
A brief history of the Breaks:
About 200 million years ago this area was covered by a vast inland sea which caused layers of sediment - mud and sand - to be formed and hardened. Later, forces under and hard pushed these layers upward forming parallel ridges. Although erosion slowly wore those ridges flat, a second upheaval created the present height and appearance of the land. The wearing away is a continuous process that can be seen from different overlooks throughout the park.
180 million years ago, the inland sea receded, leaving in its wake a veritable cradle of botany. Meanwhile the river that is now Russell Fork got about the work of carving out an immense, spectacular gorge.
What is quartz?
Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earth’s crust. As a mineral name, quartz refers to a specific chemical compound (silicon dioxide, or silica, SiO2), having a specific crystalline form (hexagonal). It is found is all forms of rock: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. Quartz is physically and chemically resistant to weathering. When quartz-bearing rocks become weathered and eroded, the grains of resistant quartz are concentrated in the soil, in rivers, and on beaches. The white sands typically found in river beds and on beaches are usually composed mainly of quartz, with some white or pink feldspar as well.
Quartz is not a natural occurrence in this area. The closest source for naturally occurring quartz is in the Blue Ridge Mountain ridge. The quartz that is found here is thought to be from the northern section of the Blue Ridge Mountain at the Canadian border. Geologists believe when the area was covered by shallow inland sea, the water current actually carried the quartz here. The quartz has been rounded by the erosion of the water. These pebbles are hundreds of miles from where they came from.
This Earthcache will bring you to one of the best locations to observe the quartz imbedded into the sandstone conglomerates of the cliffs here. This is on the rim of the gorge. You can tell over time erosion has played a part unearthing this rock formation. At one time this area was underwater, but as the water cut its way through the massive rock, it uncovered many hidden treasures, and the quartz you see here is one of the examples.
In order to demonstrate you have visited this site, please answer the following:
1: Looking at the quartz rock, estimate how many would be in a 5 inch square.
2: What size are these pebbles? (A: marble, B: golf ball, C: baseball)
3: What colors is the quartz made up of?
4: Post a picture of yourself at the rock formation, do not show any answers in the picture.
*Optional, post a picture just of the rock formation
E-mail or message your answer via the above profile. Please do not answer or give any of the information in your post.
Placed with permission of Breaks Interstate Park.
REMEMBER:
you are in the southern mountains, you will need
to watch for snakes, bears, ticks, biting insects, poison plants.. you know, nature stuff!