This is an Earthcache. There is no physical container at the posted coordinates, but rather a geological lesson for you to explore. Please review the information on the cache page, then make your way to Ground Zero to make your observations and answer the three questions below. Email your answers to the cache owner by clicking the "message this owner" button above, and once complete, you can log this cache.

Thanks and happy caching!

QUESTIONS

1. Describe the facies of the bedrock that forms the trail. What kind of cleavage is present? 

2. Describe the conglomerates seen along the trail. Are they big like the image on the page or smaller?

3. Find a bowl eroded into the top of a rock and estimate the diameter and depth.

(Optional) Post a picture of yourself at GZ during your visit.

Welcome to Bear Rocks Preserve, an otherworldly destination tucked away at the north point of Dolly Sods Wilderness. There's a reason West Virginia is known as Almost Heaven, and after visiting this spot, I hope you see why. Not only are the views spectacular, but the unique geological formations that comprise this area are rich in educational lessons. This earthcache explores the geological significance of this location and challenges you to think critically about the rocks under your feet.

OVERVIEW

Large, striking, and uniquely shaped white sandstone and quartz rocks are found throughout the Bear Rocks Preserve area. Erosion has carved bowl-shaped cavities in many of these wind- and rain-sculpted sandstone boulders and these cavities are often filled with water (or ice) and algae. In addition to the sculpted boulders are "rock streams" formed during glacial periods. The freeze-thaw cycles heaved and split rock, creating rock streams up to 50 feet (15 m) wide and hundreds of feet long. Other rock patterns include polygons and circles. (Reference)

To complete this earth cache, you'll need to hike to the posted coordinates and along the way make note of the three significant geological processes found here. You don't need to find any specific example, but I have no doubt you'll find plenty of evidence on your short stroll.

BEDROCK FACIES

In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as either bedding surfaces or bedding planes. Typically, a stratum is generally one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another to form enormous thicknesses of strata. The bedding surfaces (bedding planes) that separate strata represent episodic breaks in deposition associated either with periodic erosion, cessation of deposition, or some combination of the two. (Reference)

A facies is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formation), and the changes that may occur in those attributes over a geographic area. A facies encompasses all of the characteristics of a rock including its chemical, physical, and biological features that distinguish it from adjacent rock. (Reference)

Cleavage, in structural geology and petrology, describes a type of planar rock feature that develops as a result of deformation and metamorphism. The degree of deformation and metamorphism along with rock type determines the kind of cleavage feature that develops. Generally, these structures are formed in fine-grained rocks composed of minerals affected by pressure solution. (Reference)

The presence of fabric elements such as the preferred orientation of platy or elongate minerals, compositional layering, grain size variations, etc. determines what type of cleavage forms. Cleavage is categorized as either continuous or spaced. (Reference)

CONGLOMERATE

Conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed of a substantial fraction of rounded to subangular gravel-size clasts. A conglomerate typically contains a matrix of finer-grained sediments, such as sand, silt, or clay, which fills the interstices between the clasts. The clasts and matrix are typically cemented by calcium carbonate, iron oxide, silica, or hardened clay.  Conglomerates form by the consolidation and lithification of gravel. They can be found in sedimentary rock sequences of all ages but probably make up less than 1 percent of the weight of all sedimentary rocks. In terms of origin and depositional mechanisms, they are closely related to sandstones and exhibit many of the same types of sedimentary structures, e.g., tabular and trough cross-bedding.

EROSION BOWLS

Physical weathering, also known as mechanical weathering, is when rain, wind or other atmospheric conditions cause rocks to crumble. Water is a key agent of physical weathering either in its liquid or frozen forms. Water can seep into cracks, and when the temperature drops, the water will freeze. Since water expands as it freezes, this creates an ice wedge that slowly cracks and splits the rock. Tiny rock fragments are carried away as the ice melts, and this entire cycle is called ​frost weathering​, or ​cryofracturing​.

In high-altitude climates such as those at Bear Rocks, water can take longer to evaporate and thus sits on the surface of rocks for longer. As it continues to rain, more water is collected. This weathers the surface of the rock to create potholes. The more water, the deeper the hole.