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 is required to post a find for this cache.
STAY BEHIND THE FENCE.
1. MESSAGE …. At the overlook, observe the outcrops to your left and to your right. Where are the cross-beds visible - top, sides, both?
2. MESSAGE …. Using binoculars, view the sandstone outcrops along the cliff across the gorge. a. Where does the crossbedding occur? / b.Are the cross-beds tabular or planar? / c. What was the current direction at time of deposition?
3. LOG …. Post a picture at the overlook. 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.
THANK YOU Tom Oliver Recreation Forester for permision to share this learning adventure.
At the overlook is an awesome view of Pine Creek Gorge aka Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. The gorge depth here is 850' and the distance from rim to rim reaches 2,000'.
CROSS-BEDDING
Barbour Rock is an outcrop of gray, cross-bedded sandstone of the Catskill Formation. Crossbedding in rocks can develop when sand migrates as a dune or sand wave across the bed of a stream and builds out sloped layers relative to the main bed layer. Crossbeds can be clues to the original current direction of deposition. The Catskill Formation formed during the Late Devonian, about 370 million years ago.
There are two main types of cross-bedding. One is tabular/planar where strata are horizontal. The other is trough where strata are curved.
PALEOCURRENT
"A palaeocurrent indicator is evidence for the direction of flow at the time the sediment was deposited, and may also be referred to as the palaeoflow." The direction of dip indicates the direction of flow. The angle of dip indicates the speed of the current.
RESOURCES ... Coulton Point State Park ... Outstanding Geologic Features ... Trail of Geology 16-028.1 ... PA Grand Canyon ... Scenic Overlook ... Paleocurrents ... Sedimentary Structures ... Slideshare ... Chapter 16 ... Types