🔹 Welcome

Welcome to The Many Faces Of Granite! Please read logging requirements as set out below in order to log a find. Please send me an email with the required information, and do not post any answers in your log. Pictures are always encouraged, however, be sure that they do not give away any of the answers!

These large stone ‘balloons’ are part of Dundas’s ‘Big Bounce’ celebration, created to reflect the community’s playful spirit. While they may look like fun public art, they also provide a unique opportunity to explore real geological features up close. Each one shows a different way rocks can form, look, and change over time.

At first glance, they may seem similar. But when you slow down and really look, you’ll notice differences in:

• colour
• crystal size
• patterns
• and overall appearance

This EarthCache is all about observing carefully and comparing what you see.

Learning Section (Everything You Need)

Rocks that form deep underground from slowly cooling molten material are called igneous rocks. Granite is one of the most common types.

Granite is made of different minerals, including:

• Feldspar → often pink, white, or light coloured
• Quartz → grey or clear
• Mica → black and often shiny

👉 When magma cools slowly, crystals have time to grow larger.
👉 When it cools more quickly, crystals stay smaller and harder to see.

Crystal Size

• Large crystals → easy to see, rock looks “chunky”
• Small crystals → harder to see, rock looks more smooth or blended

Mineral Colour

• Rocks with more light minerals look lighter
• Rocks with more dark minerals look darker

Metamorphism (Change by Heat & Pressure)

Sometimes rocks are changed after they form.

Heat and pressure can:

• push minerals into bands or layers
• create swirls or patterns

These rocks are called metamorphic rocks (like gneiss).

Inclusions (Rocks Inside Rocks)

Some rocks contain pieces of different material trapped inside.

These are called inclusions:

• they often look like patches or blobs
• they are usually different in colour or texture from the rest of the rock

Key Idea

👉 Rocks can look very different depending on:

• how fast they cooled
• what minerals they contain
• and whether they were changed after forming

In order to log this earthcache, please visit all 5 waypoints and email me the answers to the following 30 questions. Please remember to upload the two required pictures as well (from Stage 3 and 4).

Posted – Typical Granite

1. What is the main colour of this rock?
2. Name two different mineral colours you can see.
3. Are the crystals large (easy to see) or small (hard to see)?
4. Based on the learning section, did this rock likely cool slowly or more quickly?
5. Does the rock look mostly uniform or made of many visible pieces?

Stage 2 – Larger Crystals

1. Are the crystals larger or smaller than Stage 1?
2. Do you see any shiny (mica) minerals?
3. Does this rock look more “chunky” or more smooth than Stage 1?
4. Based on crystal size, did this rock cool slower or faster than Stage 1?
5. What does the crystal size tell you about how long it had to form?

Stage 3 – Banded Rock

1. Do you see bands, layers, or swirls?
2. Are there alternating light and dark areas?
3. Based on the learning section, what process causes this pattern?
4. What type of rock forms when heat and pressure change it?
5. Does this rock look more organized or random compared to Stage 1?

MANDATORY:  Take one photo showing you or a personal item with this rock in the background.

Stage 4 – Inclusions

1. What is the main colour of this rock?
2. Do you see darker patches or blobs inside it?
3. Do these patches look the same or different from the rest of the rock?
4. Based on the learning section, what are these patches called?
5. What do inclusions tell us about how the rock formed?  

MANDATORY:  Take one photo showing you or a personal item with an inclusion in the picture.

Stage 5 – Dark Rock

1. Is this rock lighter or darker than the others?
2. Are the crystals easy to see or hard to see?
3. Based on colour, does this rock contain more light minerals or dark minerals?
4. Does the rock look more uniform or more varied?
5. How does this rock differ from the typical granite in Stage 1?

Final Reflection

1. Which stage shows the largest crystals?
2. Which stage shows evidence of heat and pressure?
3. Which stage contains inclusions?
4. Which stage is the darkest?
5. What is one way rocks can differ from each other based on what you observed?

Congratulations to boekmeisje on the FTF!