This is an EarthCache and as such, there is no physical container to find here or log to sign. In order to log a find, you must make observations and submit answers to the questions below with the required photo. If you are unable to do so right away, you may log a 'write note' and change your log to a 'find' when you are able to submit the required information. Street parking is available at posted (gz) coordinates.
To log this earthcache, please send a private message to the cache owner with answers to the following questions:
From write-up:
1) About how many years ago was Medina Sandstone formed?
2) What mineral is in Medina Sandstone to give it its red colour?
3) What is the process of uniting the iron-rich minerals present in the sandstone and oxygen called?
From your observations of the building:
4) When standing at stage 2 (N 43° 6.369' W 79° 4.400') and looking at the front of the building, are the layers of red and light brown in the blocks mostly vertical or horizontal?
5) Looking at the front of this building, estimate what you think the percentage (%) of the stone contains iron oxide and what percentage contains organic materials. Do not include the stone trim around the windows.
6) Per the new EarthCache guidelines, take a selfie or a photo or your gps (or thumb) with the building in the background and post it with your log.
Medina Sandstone History
Medina Sandstone was formed approximately 400 million years ago during the Lower Silurian Period. It's a multi-coloured, well-cemented, quartzose sandstone. Its predominantly quartz cement makes it durable and ideally suited for building purposes. Its red color and light mottled streaks and spots make it easily recognizable.
It was discovered in Medina, New York, when the Erie Canal was dug in the 1820's and was quarried starting in 1837. It was the perfect spot for a quarry as the stone could be sent up and down the Erie Canal allowing it to be shipped throughout the country as well as the world. It was even shipped to London, England and was used to build parts of Buckingham Palace.
The Medina Group of Sandstone (includes Grimsby Sandstone, Power Glen Shale and Whirlpool Sandstone) was quarried in Medina, New York and in Ontario, Canada, from Niagara to Orangeville. This stone was used to build the N.Y. State Capitol building and the Brooklyn Bridge, among other buildings in the United States. From the Forks of the Credit River Quarry and Rockway Quarry in Ontario (Canada) Medina stone was used to build part of the original Parliament buildings (Ottawa), the old City Hall (Toronto), the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) and many churches including St. Patricks Roman Catholic Church (completed in 1895) and this building, St. Patrick's Hall. Over 100 years later, there is no wear or signs of erosion.
Geological Lesson
Medina Sandstone Properties
Sandstone is a type of rock made from sediment composed mostly of sand grains, the minerals quartz and feldspar, and fragments of rock. It is gritty to the touch and does not container shale. The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages. First, sedimentation begins when sand and other material are eroded from one part of the Earth's surface and are transported by water or wind to a different location. There, the sediments are deposited in layers.
Secondly, over time, these sand layers are buried deep in the Earth's surface and become sandstone when compacted by the pressure of the deposits and minerals coming together. When sand is deeply buried, the pressure and slightly higher temperatures allow minerals to dissolve or deform and become mobile. The grains become more tightly knit together, and the sediments are squeezed into a smaller volume. This is the time when cementing material moves into the sediment, carried there by water containing dissolved minerals and the rock becomes hard. The most common cementing materials are silica (quartz) and calcium carbonate.
The rusty red colour is caused by the process of oxidation or uniting the iron-rich minerals present in the sandstone and oxygen (an iron oxide). Over time, the iron-rich minerals in the sand break down and the iron is oxidized into hematite crystals that form a coating on the quartz sand grains. Oxidizing conditions lead to red colors from iron oxides while reducing conditions lead to darker and grayer colors. Some stones have oxidizing properties and others have unchanging banding. The light brown or whitish streaks or spots are thought to be the result of organic material in the rock at the time of formation that subsequently did not oxidize and thereby did not take on the red color.
Building with Medina Sandstone
Medina sandstone is unusually hard for a sandstone, but is easier to work with than harder limestone. Medina Sandstone was an extremely popular building material for its durability, strength, its ease to cut and shape and its beautiful natural colour. It is resistant to the extremes in temperature of fire and the freeze-thaw cycle of northern climates.
By the 1930s Medina Sandstone was losing its appeal to build with because it was expensive to quarry and transport. By the 1920's, cement had become a popular, inexpensive substitute for stone and the quarries soon started shutting down.
References:
http://www.sustainablerock.com/medina-sandstone/
https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/WhirlpoolRefs_4375.html#:~:text=Sci-,Summary%3A,is%2018%20to%2028%20feet.
https://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/sgmc-unit.php?unit=NYSm%3B4
https://www.artistictile.net/store/info-sandstones.html
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-sandstone-1441016
Special thanks to Bug Finders for his help and encouragement with this EarthCache.