Parking is readily available across the road from the posted Earthcache coordinates.
At the posted coordinates, you will find a prominant outcropping of Red Clay. This formation is part of the Weches formation which dates back over 40 million years. The Weches Formation is a fossiliferous glauconite rich sand that graduates into a clay. It is considered one of the principal iron bearing beds in Eastern Texas, and is mined for sand iand gravel in parts of Texas where exposed.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy, there are twelve orders of Clay classifications. Each order has its own characteristics, composition, and uses. The formation here (commonly called red clay or red mud) falls into the "Ultisols" category.
The word "ultisol" is derived from "ultimate", because ultisols were seen as the ultimate product of continuous weathering of minerals in a humid, temperate climate without new soil formation via glaciation.
Red clay is rich in weathered minerals. Over time, rain leaches out soil calcium, magnesium and potassium. This makes a soil ‘old.’ Particles in such soils are smaller than 2.0 microns.
With very small 'pore' size, red clay absorbs water slowly and has excellent moisture retention. While moisture is being retained, red clay becomes malleable allowing for easier movement and handling. Ultisols become very hard when dry with its porosity becoming even tighter. These are the basic characteristics that make red clay a very useful soil in the manufacturing of brick, pottery, and a very stable base for building foundations.
What makes it red?
The very weathering process that forms Ultisol formations also gives it its color. The red color results from the accumulation of iron oxide (rust). Rain leaches out most other properties and iron oxide remains in the soil due to it being very insoluble. Organic matter can mask soil colors in certain areas or cause color variations. Due to the warm and humid climate in East Texas, examples of this are not prominent. The use of red clay has a long history in pigments for painting.
Horizons
Red Clay Soils, including red mud, are divided into layers. There are organic, topsoil, subsoil, parent material and bedrock layers. Junctures between layers are called horizons. Organic materials, sand, silt, and other slow leaching minerals can cause these horizons or layer divisions.
Uses
Clay has long been used for a number of everyday uses. Clay tablets were the first known writing medium.Scribes wrote by inscribing them with cuneiform script using a blunt reed called a stylus. Purpose-made clay balls were also used as sling ammunition.
In modern times, clay can be found in the production of earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, tile, brick, cosmetics, cement, mortar, chemical filtering, and even in medicine. These are just a few of the uses of clay.
All the answers to log this Earthcache can be found in the text above or from your personal observations at the posted coordinates. No need to google or conduct massive research. After all, this is supposed to be fun, not work.
To claim a find on this Earthcache, please send an E-MAIL to 98x with the answer/observations to the questions below.
DO NOT include answers in your “Found It” log. Logs will be deleted if answers are contained within, or you didn’t actually visit the site! Please don’t post pictures of the outcropping!
Questions;
1- At the time of your visit, is the clay wet, or dry? Describe how it feels to the touch. (For example, is it soft or hard, is it sandy or rocky?)
2- Do you observe what appears to be layers (or Horizons) in this formation? Do these layers appear to be uniform in thickness? What direction do these Horizons seem to run? (Horizontal, vertical, some of both)
3- What colors,if any, do you see in the Horizons? In your own words, what can give these Horizons their color?
4- Looking at the top level of this outcropping, what do you see that helped these Ultisols develop and also gave it the red color? (Hint; see above text).
5- Give 2 examples of how red clay has been used in your personal life.
Additional resources;
Wikipediahttps://en.m.wikipedia.org › wikiUltisol
https://www.sciencedirect.com › ulti...Ultisol - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
scholarworks.sfasu.eduhttps://scholarworks.sfasu.edu › ...PDFGeology of Nacogdoches, Texas - SFA ScholarWorks
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/natural-resource-concerns/soils/ultisols