DO NOT CROSS THE FENCE, IT IS PRIVATE PROPERTY, THE ANSWERS FOR THIS CACHE DO NOT REQUIRE YOU TO TRESPASS OR TO ENTER THE BLUE LAGOON PROPERTY. YOU ONLY NEED TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ROGHT NEXT TO THE MARKER TO GET THE ANSWERS.
Upon your arrival at GZ you should see several large boulders which were dug up very close to where they now lie, back when the crystal blue lagoon behind them was still a functional quarry, one rock in particular stands out because it has something sprayed in black paint on it, it also contains a couple specimens of petrified wood...
THE CATAHOULA FORMATION
The Catahoula formation is a geologic outcropping of mudstone & sand, with deeper bedrock layers containing quartz sandstone & commonly opal cement. The thickness of this formation stretches between 250 - 300 feet deep. This formation was created during the oligocene epoch around 33.9 million to 23 million years ago.
As seen in the image above the formation stretches from as far southwest as the Rio Grande river, all the way Northeast Louisiana, Crossing the Red River & ending at Bald hill. It also makes up this portion of the pineywoods that you currently are in. It formed along the ancient coastal floodplain of Texas & is rich is silica, which allows for it to be very abundant in petrified wood specimens.
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WHAT IS PETRIFIED WOOD?
Petrified wood is wood that has turned to stone over the course of millions of years through a process known as petrifaction. The organic matierials making up the cell walls have been replaced with minerals such as silica, opal, or chalcedony.
In some instances, the original structure of the stem tissue may be partially retained. Unlike other plant fossils, which are typically just impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a 3D representation of the original organic material.
The image above is of one of the specimens that can be found on the boulder at GZ. This instance is known as petrified wood in matrix, due to the wood being still contained within the boulder. It's safe to assume that because of this specimen being located in a stone from the Catahoula formation that is was formed through the process of silicification.
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SILICIFICATION
Silicification is one of several processes by which ancient wood can become petrified. In this process the carbon in the cells is slowly replaced with silicon, turning the wood into quartz over millions of years. More or less the log is buried in mud that has a very slow but steady sediment transport rate due to fluvial transport with little oxygen.
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LOGGING REQUIREMENTS
IN ORDER TO LOG THIS CACHE YOU MUST SEND THE ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS (DO NOT INCLUD THEM IN YOUR LOG, PLEASE SEND THEM SEPARATELY TO ME VIA GC MESSENGER OR EMAIL) :
1. DESCRIBE THE COLOR & TEXTURE OF THE BOULDER WITH THE SPRAY PAINTED WORDS ON IT.
2. FIND & MEASURE THE LENGTH OF THE PETRIFIED WOOD SPECIMEN THAT CAN BE SEEN IN THE IMAGE ABOVE. (This can be done with a measuring device or with whatever you can manage, i.e. how many finger lengths)
3. TELL WHAT IT SAYS SPRAY PAINTED ON THE BOULDER.
4. This one is technically not required but I would appreciate it, POST AN IMAGE OF YOU AT GZ IN YOUR LOG, PLEASE DONT GET THE BOULDER IN THE IMAGE.
THANKS!!!