EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
1. MESSAGE …. What two stratigraphic units are located here?
2. MESSAGE …. Somewhere around Bat Rock there is a coal seam. ... a. Where is it located? ... b. How thick is it?
3. MESSAGE …. a. Give two similarities between Bat Rock and the Sandstone Cliff. ... b. Give two differences between Bat Rock and the Sandstone Cliff.
4. LOG …. Post a picture at or near the posted coords. This picture is your log signature verifying that you were at the earthcache.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in creating this earthcache by adding A and B to your log.
A. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
B. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
THANK YOU Ronald McDowell / Senior Research Geologist and Head of Geoscience Section WV
-and- Gayle H. "Scott" McColloch, Jr. - West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey for your help
STRATIGRAPHIC UNIT
"A stratigraphic unit is a volume of rock of identifiable origin and relative age range that is defined by the distinctive and dominant, easily mapped and recognizable petrographic, lithologic or paleontologic features that characterize it." Wikipedia
You will see two different types of rocks - one near the posted cords (PART OF BAT ROCK) and another approx. 100' to your left (SANDSTONE CLIFF). Black coloration and cracks are blast fractures resulting from road construction.
BAT ROCK - "These fractures appear almost conchoidal (breaks which do not follow any natural planes of separation) suggesting a hard sandstone." Somewhere near Bat Rock you will find a coal seam. "Based on location this thin coal should be in the Pennsylvanian Kanawha Formation and of High Volatile A or B Bituminous rank."
SANDSTONE CLIFF - Bat Rock and the Cliff to your left are both sandstone from the same stratigraphic unit.
DEPOSITION OF ROCK LAYERS
Rocks like the ones you are observing at this site in Wayne County WV were deposited during the Paleozoic Era / Pennsylvania Period. They are classified as the Kanawha Formation and consist of up to 620 m of lithic sandstone and mudrocks with subordinate coal and impure limestone that accumulated in a subsiding foreland basin 312-320 million years ago.
