Stawamus Chief this is not, but it is still a pretty impressive granite cliff face. Come check out Stone Garden. You will have to hike to get here, probably a 2 hour return hike, up some, down some. There are other caches on the trail to keep you busy.
Granitic rocks are ancient pools of melted rock that crystallized to rock kilometres below the surface. Tremendous uplift of the land coupled with continuous erosion over millions of years has brought these deeply buried rocks to the surface. Granites usually have a coarse texture (individual minerals are visible without magnification), because the magma cools slowly underground, allowing larger crystal growth. Granites are most easily characterized as light colored and coarse grained as a result of cooling slowly below the surface.
At least two phases of granitic intrusions are recognized in the Cascade and Coast Mountains. Bedrock underlying the mountains is granitic. Much of the bedrock is orange granite. It is very-coarsely crystalline.
Once at the GZ, spend a few moments admiring the granite cliffs rising above you, and please answer the following questions:
- What compositional and textural features identify this as granite?
- Would this granite would be useful for dimension stone (e.g. countertops)? Why or why not?
- Collect a representative hand sample:
- Describe the general colour of a fresh (unweathered) surface.
- Describe the mineral texture and grain size.
- Please post a picture of your geocaching crew or personal item @ the GZ.
Though this is a beautiful place, please do not rock climb. Rare plants cling to the granite cliff faces.