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:
DEVIL'S FOOTBALL
1. MESSAGE …. What is the size of the Devil's Football boulder (perimeter/height)?
2. MESSAGE …. a. Where in the rock does the compass needle point? ... b. What does this indicate?
LOG …. Post a picture of you or your signature item at the Devil's Football sign. This picture is your log signature.
GLACIER
3. MESSAGE …. Stop at Waypoint 2 on your return to the parking lot. What evidence that glaciers passed this way are seen here?
SUMMIT
4. MESSAGE …. Observe the basalt outcrop at the summit. a. What is the size of this outcrop? / b. What direction did the lava flow as indicated by the dikes.
5. MESSAGE …. Observe the examples of columnar basalt. What is the size of the largest column (wiidth/height)?
LOG …. Post a picture of you or your signature item anywhere at the summit. This picture is your log signature.
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
THANK YOU Kery Emma Ellis (Visitor Services Supervisor) for permision to share this learning adventure.
GEOLOGY
"As the highlands wore down, lava oozed from vents deep within the earth. It flooded the basin and hardened into a rock called basalt. When the earth’s crust shifted and moved, the basalt sheet tilted upwards. What was originally flat is now upended, hundreds of feet higher than the valley floor. As it hardened, the basalt developed cracks and chunks of the basalt sheet broke off into individual rocks. Their sharp angles reflect this fracture pattern. The rock is heavy, dark and rich in the element iron. It can take on a reddish cast like rusted nails."
The Ice Age left its mark on many of the land's surface features. The glacier spread southward disintegrating some rocks and fracturing others.
BASALT
Basalt is an igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich lava exposed at or very near the surface. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt.
DEVIL'S FOOTBALL
This is a large basalt boulder with a fracture pattern. A fracture is any separation that divides the rock into two or more pieces. A fracture will sometimes form a deep fissure or crevice in the rock.There are a few spots where a compass needle points to the rock instead of north.
GLACIAL INDICATORS
Throughout the park there are indicators that the glaciers covered the landscape. One indicator is the presence of glacial grooves/striations etched in the rock. Another indicator is vesicular basalt, inch-size stones with tiny holes.
SUMMIT OUTCROP
Columnar jointing is caused when magma cools. When magma cools, it is slowly changed from a liquid to a solid. As magma contracts, cracks radiate outward from regularly spaced points forming consistent angles. "In basalts, after the cracks are formed at the surface, they continue to grow below the surface as the magma cools and crystallizes at depth. The result is the formation of five- to six-sided vertical columns that extend from the top to the bottom of the flow."
RESOURCES ... Connecticut River Valley Geohistory ... Fractures ... SD 10.7 Indian Run Overlook ... Wikipedia