FREE PUBLIC PARKING IS AVAILABLE AT EACH OF THE TWO STAGES.
STAGE 1: N 37 13.358 W 121 51.029
At Stage 1 you are finding a unique structure, still standing even though it was crafted from the Quarry in the nearby hill over 100 years ago.
STAGE 2: N 37 13.512 W 121 51.244
At Stage 2 you are gazing upon untouched remnants of the hillside on which the quarry was mined and that birthed the geological materials used to create the structure.
A quarry is like a mine, but it is above ground and usually scooped out bit by bit creating a big hole in the landscape. Rocks consistsing of different types of minerals, sand, and organic material abundant in an area are removed and used for various purposes.
Brownstone, a sedimentary rock formed over thousands to millions of years from the consolidation of various grains of other rocks, is a type of sandstone. Sandstone, often created from quartz or feldspar sand becomes cemented together by silica, iron oxide, or calcium carbonate. Sandstones can be a mix of different colors, such as white, gray, brown, or red. When sandstone is red or brown it means there is iron oxide present inside the stones; darker colors mean there is more iron oxide, while lighter brown means less iron oxide. The sandstones may have flowed along with watershed to an ancient river or lake where they are left behind. Centuries and then eons passed as the grains were buried by more sediment, and then the weight and pressure of the sediment makes the grains meld together.
Sometimes erosion and weathering exposes expanses of rock layers, but as humans learned how to use tools and expand their range, researchers and miners dug up vast areas exploring the geological composition of mountains and other land masses to identify and use the specific minerals and fossils in each area they came across. This human activity led to Brownstone being used as a building material because it was found to be durable and easy to work with. It has been used in all parts of buildings--walls, flooring, landscaping, patios, and walkways.
The Goodrich Quarry, at one time also know as Graystone Quarry, was instrumental in 'building' San Jose and surrounding areas. Brownstone was taken from the nearby hills and used for the building of numerous buildings in town, including the San Jose Hall of Justice, Post Office, St. Mary's Church, and even some of the original buildings of Stanford University North of San Jose.
To log this earthcache, use the information from the cache description and from what you see in front of you at each stage to answer the following questions.
At Stage 1:
(1) What is the name of the structure?
(2) Around what year was the structure created?
(3) What was the structure created out of?
(4) What attributes of the building's stones made them good for this application?
(5) What main colors do you see on the outside walls of the structure?
(6) Given the colors do you think there is more or less iron oxide present?
At Stage 2:
(7) Why do you think what you see at this stage is important to this city?
(8) Using the cache description and what you saw at Stage 1, what type of boulders are at this location?
(9) Look at the biggest boulder you find at Stage 2 - Estimate the size in feet and describe the color(s)
(10) Why do you think the quarry is no longer active here or What is in the area instead of the quarry?
Not required, but if you see any flowers or animals in the area that you can take photos of without getting too close, please include in your log.
Do not put the earthcache answers in your log; send the answers to the cache owner - please include your geoname and the number of people in your party.
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References:
Photos by Jeanne Dittman
Sepia Tone: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~21681~660044:Williams-Ranch,-Goodrich-Quarry-
Brown Sandstone: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xWnCgx_QC0ERfWRGW9fZDfYsubT9WJr6NoLLVpEKjhA/edit
History and Geological Information: https://www.mountaincharlie1850.org/pl_goodrich_quarry.html
Quarry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarry
Sandstone: Geology.com https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=sandstone+rock
Sandstone - Kentucky Geological Society https://www.uky.edu/KGS/rocksmineral/rm-rocks-sandstone.php