HUECO MOUNTAINS
First a little background on these beautiful mountains that you are visiting. They are actually a range of mountains that stretch from New Mexico to Texas which is where their highest point resides. They are mostly sedimentary and have stony soils. They run right next to the Rio Grande which you can get 20 feet from at this location and get a beautiful view of it.
There are many dirt roads in this area. You will need a high clearance 4WD vehicle to get part of the way to this cache. The dirt roads will turn into treacherous off-roading. At the end of the line you will have to hike the rest of the way on a well defined and beautiful trail. Be careful not to step on the cow dung. Also be ready to pinstripe your vehicle or your hike will be significantly greater.
Here is a beautiful shot taken from the Hueco Mountains during our recent trip to cache here.
Now for how these mountains were formed. There are numerous processes that lead to the creation of these mountains. They were originally part of the Rocky Mountain trend, and they were forced upward as part of the mountain building period that happened during late creataceous sixty to seventy million years ago.
The processes mentioned above include erosion, weathering, lithification, dissolution, and natural occurrences such as the occasional rains. The mountainous areas are impacted by enough weathering and erosion to transform it's boulders and structures into sediments to include the sand and mud you see around you at ground zero.
This along the other processes are responsible for the layers/sections called (cross sections) in these mountains which are also clearly visible at this location. The mountain cover, wind, and rainfall/runoff determines the direction of mountain cross sections of mountains.
Questions and Tasks
1. At GZ you will be face to face with the mountain. Cross sections are clearly visible here. How many sections do you see and how thick are they?
2. In what direction/angle are these sections running?
3. Do you see any evidence of erosion at GZ? If so, please describe what you see.
4. As proof that you were at the location of this earthcache, please post a picture of yourself and/or your group or a picture of your GPS or phone at GZ with the mountain in the background.