PERMISSION:
This earthcache is placed with permission of the Chief of Resource Education, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS:
Each cacher must send in their own answers when logging this find. Review the materials below and answer by message/email the questions to the best of your ability. Questions will be listed after the lesson. Please follow all logging requirements and do not post any answers with your log.
BE BEAR AWARE:
Reminder that area surrounding Kuwohi is wilderness and that wildlife native to this area do exist. You may or may not encounter any. Please review What if I see a Bear? on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park webpage to help keep yourself safe and those with you. If you have any questions, the Park Rangers are there to help answer them.
ABOUT KUWOHI:
In September, 2024, the name of Clingmans Dome was restored to the Cherokee name for this beautiful location.....Kuwohi (pronounced "Ku-woah--hee"). Kuwohi translates to "mulberry place". There are several ways to access this location, by driving/traveling the 7 mile road off Rt. 441 at Newfound Gap or hiking to this area from other spots, including the Appalachian Trail. Please keep in mind that you will need a parking pass if you plan to be in this location for more than 15 minutes. (Refer to the GSMNP web page for details).
Kuwohi Rd is closed from early December - late March each year.
KUWOHI ROCK VARITIES:
Metamorphosed sedimentary rock is the dominant rock type in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, however some igneous rock also occur. Sedimentary rock forms through a cycle of erosion and deposition mainly in water. Erosion of materal may include cobbles, pebbles, sand, silt clay and accumulation of shells from ancient sea animals. Igneous rock solidifies from melted rock or lava. Rocks metamorphose when subjected to heat and pressure. Metamorphosed sandstone, siltstone and shale are the most common type in the park. The Great Smoky Mountains has a vast complex geology in eastern North America.
CONCRETIONS OF KUWOHI:
Kuwohi is the highest mountain located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This mountain is made up of metamorphosed conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and shale of the Thunderhead Sandstone. The sediments that comprise this rock were eroded from a much older bedrock deposited in a rift basin more than 545 million years ago. While deeply buried, they changed into rocks at very high pressure and temperatures. Fast forward 300 million years with a tremendous continental plate tetonic colisions and the rocks were lifted to form mountains, potentially as much as twice as high as today's mountains we see. Fast forward again with millions of years passing with erosion, uplifts and formation of valleys in the area. Elements such as water, ice, snow, vegetation and chemical influences began to break down these enormous mountains. Large quanities of sand, silt and clay were washed from the highlands to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Wonderful outcrops of gray metasandstone, very coarse-grained, and metaconglomerate are present here at Kuwohi. The trailhead at the parking lot showcases some of these beautiful Thunderhead Sandstone outcrops. If you look for white quartz veins in these rocks (located between the trailhead to well past the Visitor Center), the characteristic blue quartz pebbles of the Thunderhead Sandstone will be visible. On a number of the rock faces, you can see rounded, recesssed areas of varying width, which are concretions. These concretions may have been segregations of calcium carbonate in the original sediment.
The concretions at Kuwohi are in sandstone and have a spherical to subspherical to slightly irregular shape. Coloration may be slightly different from the sandstone in which they are imbedded.
WHAT IS A CONCRETION?
Concretions are a hard and compact masses created by the precipitation of mineral cement within the spaces between particles and normally found in sedimentary rock. They are frequently ovoid or spherical in appearance, but some may have irregular shapes. They form within the layers of sedimentary state that has already been deposited, usually forming before the rest of the sediment has hardened into rock. As a result, the concretions are usually harder and far more resistant to the effects of weathering than the surrounding rock. There are hundreds of different types of concretions worldwide. We will discuss several of types below.
SEPATARIAN NODULES:
Septarian nodules are actually concretions. It's interior minerals have cracked through the exterior creating a mottled coloration. Essentially, a ball of mud cracked at some point and allowed the interior of the nodule to fill with calcite, generally yellow in color from iron content.
CANNONBALL CONCRETIONS:
Cannonball concretiosn are large spherical concretions, resembling a cannonball. Some can reach 9 feet in diameter. They were formed by early cementation of sand and silt by calcite.
HIATUS CONCRETIONS:
Characteristics of hiatus concertions is being unearthed, exposured to the elements and eventual reburial. They are usually found where submarine erosion has concentrated, washing away surrounding finer-grained sediment by lag surfaces. This type of concretion, allowing for exposure and erosion, is common where calcite sea conditions prevailed. Most are formed from cemented infillings of burrow systems in siliciclastic or carbonte sediment. Another distinctive feature is they are often encrusted by marine organisms, including bryozoans, echinoderms and tube worms.
ELONGATE CONCRETIONS:
Elongate concretions form parallel to sedimentary strata due to the probable influence of groundwater. This groundwater travels on the axis of elongation.
REFERENCES:
Mountain Geology, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 2022 revision (available at GSMNP Visitor Centers)
THANK YOU TO:
Rainbowtree who was the inspiration for this earthcache.
QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED:
1. Observe and describe the outcrop of rock at this location. What type of rock do you think is predominent at this location, based on the lesson?
2. Locate one of the concretions at this outcrop. Through what your observe, describe the concretion you selected, general shape and anything unique you notice.
3. Observe the rock outcrop at this location. Based on the lesson, please explain what you think is the hardest and oldest part of this sandstone? Sandstone or concretions.
4. What type of concretion do you observe at this outcrop?
5. Optional, but not required, is a photograph posted with your log of the views from your location. You do not have to be in the photograph unless you want to.