This cache has be placed at Bandelier National Park and is on the trail that take you past some of the cliff dwellings. This was place with permission and PLEASE STAY ON THE TRAIL! Also you need a permit for some things. to log this geocache pleases answer the fallowing question
1. Look at the rock what are the made from/whats the official name of the rock.
2. Why is the tuff so soft/chalkey and why is it so easy to carve into?
3. Upload a picture of your self standing by one of the cliff dwellings.
The prehispanic culture that occupied Bandelier National Monument was strongly influenced by the geologic features and processes of the area. The rock that forms the majority of the mesas and sheer-walled canyons within the monument erupted from nearby Valles Caldera one to two million years ago and was a well-suited home for the Ancestral Puebloans. The volcanic tuff rock is strong enough to support steep canyons but also weak enough for the ancient people to excavate dwellings with hand tools. These canyons and mesas also supported a rich ecosystem that provided water and food. The geologic history of the area resulted in the landscape of the monument that allowed for successful early human settlement.
Bandelier is located on the west side of the Rio Grande Rift, a fault zone that is the center of both earthquake and volcanic activity.
Volcanic Landforms: Extrusive Igneous
Bandelier National Monument hosts a world-class example of welded tuff volcanic rock (National Park Service, 2005). Bandelier is located on the Pajarito Plateau and is part of a volcanic complex that has been active for over 13 million years. This volcanic complex is situated at the intersection of the Rio Grande rift and the Jemez Mountains volcanic field.
Geologically recent, large and violent volcanic eruptions dominate the geologic story of Bandelier. Between 1.61 and 1.25 million years ago, two massive explosive eruptions spewed out a combined 160 cubic miles of rock, ash, pumice, and tuff over Bandelier and the surrounding region (National Park Service, 2005).
The Bandelier Tuff - a deposit composed primarily of volcanic ash hardened by superheated gas - is the most significant rock unit at the Monument, because it is widespread and forms its unique canyon and mesa topography that was so well suited for early human occupation. The Bandelier Tuff contributed to the development of the Puebloan civilization at Bandelier, because the people were able to carve into this rock to create dwellings, they utilized its water retaining properties for farming, and the unique topography formed in this rock supports a thriving ecosystem and associated food and water resources.
Homes were constructed from blocks of volcanic tuff, which is soft and relatively easy to break into blocks. In fact, natural erosional processes often create slopes of talus or broken, often block-like pieces of rock, at the bottom of canyon walls. The Ancestral Pueblo people had sources of hard rock, basalt, just a short distance down canyon. From this more durable rock the people made axes and hammers which could be used as tools to form the tuff blocks. Axes were also used to fell large Ponderosa pine trees whose straight, thick trunks made excellent vigas (the beams used to support the roof).
Blocks of tuff were held together with a mud mixture. This mortar is often missing when a site is excavated. In the past, the mortar was often replaced with concrete, a much harder material than the tuff. This led to problems and currently an effort is underway to replace the old concrete with a new mortar that has properties more similar to the original. Dwellings built along the base of the canyon wall were often more stories than similar ones built on the canyon floor. These dwellings used the support of the canyon wall. One can determine exactly how many stories tall they were by looking at the rows of viga holes.
tuff, a relatively soft, porous rock that is usually formed by the compaction and cementation of volcanic ash or dust. (The Italian term tufa is sometimes restricted to the soft, porous, sedimentary rock formed by the chemical deposition of calcite, or calcium carbonate, or silica from water as sinter.) Tuffs may be grouped as vitric, crystal, or lithic when they are composed principally of glass, crystal chips, or the debris of pre-existing rocks, respectively. Some of the world’s largest deposits of vitric tuff are produced by eruptions through a large number of narrow fissures rather than from volcanic cones. Tuff is easy to carve into because it is a relatively soft, porous rock formed from compacted volcanic ash, making it malleable and readily workable with basic tools, especially when compared to harder stone types; this characteristic allowed ancient civilizations to carve intricate shapes into tuff even with primitive tools
before you log don't forget to press the send answers button or message me on geocache don't forget to add your photo to. I'll give you 10 days to do this and if you don't do it by 10 days, your log will be removed till you add your answers and photo.
open hours
Current Visitor Center hours are 9 AM - 5 PM.
The park is open dawn to dusk every day except Christmas or during heavy snow days or other emergencies.
credit/ links
https://www.nps.gov/articles/nps-geodiversity-atlas-bandelier-national-monument-new-mexico.htm#:~:text=The%20Bandelier%20Tuff%20%2D%20a%20deposit,suited%20for%20early%20human%20occupation.
https://www.nps.gov/band/learn/historyculture/carved.htm#:~:text=Ancestral%20Pueblo%20people%20carved%20rooms,cliffs%20of%20the%20Pajarito%20Plateau.&text=by%20sally%20king-,Ancestral%20Pueblo%20people%20carved%20rooms%2C%20known%20today%20as%20cavates%20(CAVE,cliffs%20of%20the%20Pajarito%20Plateau.
https://www.nps.gov/band/learn/historyculture/ancestral-pueblo-home-construction.htm#:~:text=The%20walls%20of%20structures%20were%20built%20with%20blocks%20of%20volcanic%20tuff.&text=Homes%20were%20constructed%20from%20blocks,the%20bottom%20of%20canyon%20walls.
https://www.nps.gov/band/planyourvisit/hours.htm#:~:text=Park%20Hours,Campground%20are%20open%2024%20hours.