ROCK CITY PARK
Adults $5.00 / Seniors $4.00 / Children 6-12 $3.00
Open Memorial Day to Labor Day from 9 to 5
THIS IS SEASONAL, BUT KEEPING IT ACTIVE FOR THOSE PLANNING A VISIT.
THANK YOU Cindy Smith (Park Director) and Dale Smith (Park Ranger) for permission to share this earthcache site.
THANK YOU University of Pittsburgh Bradford for the educational guide.
Enjoy your stroll and learning adventure as you wind your way around "gigantic rock formations". If you have all the required pictures, see Cindy or Dale for a special gift.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. ... "Geocachers must complete the tasks before they log the EarthCache as found." (4.3. EarthCache logging tasks)
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 …. Explore and find the widest crack. a. Measure the width of the crack. / Using your compass, determine the direction of the crack.
2. MESSAGE …. Explore and find the narrowest crack. a. Measure the width of the crack. / Using your compass, determine the direction of the crack.
3. MESSAGE …. Explain why the cracks formed in different directions..
4. MESSAGE …. Examine the rock at your feet. What is the percentage of rounded pebbles that are significantly protruding from the matrix? (If not cemented, you would be able to use your fingers to pluck the pebbles from the rock.)
5. MESSAGE …. Explore the conglomerate. Based on the reading and your observations, is it paraconglomerate, or orthoconglomerate, or a combination of both?
6. LOG …. As you walk the trail, post a picture of paraconglomerate and another picture of orthoconglomerate. These pictures are your log signature.
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.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
THE VALLEY
Through weathering and erosion, cracks (called joints or fractures) developed in the rocks, forming blocks that either slid downhill or were held in place by the valley walls.
The widest cracks developed parallel to the valley (_/_ orientation) forming blocks that slid downhill enlarging the cracks.
The narrowest cracks developed perpendicular to the valley (_/_ orientation) forming blocks that were helld in place by the sides of the valley.
THE ROCKS
Puddingstone is a popular name applied to a conglomerate that consists of distinctly rounded pebbles whose colors contrast sharply with the color of the finer-grained matrix surrounding them. The maximum recorded thickness of this conglomerate is at Rock City Park and is 80 ft.
"Weathering and erosion broke down the young Appalachian Mountains in present day Canada, and transported those sediments to the south, in the Appalachian basin. The pebbles are rounded because of the river activity, not the waves. This was an important element in separating the Olean Conglomerate from Salamanca conglomerate. Olean has round pebbles, deposited by rivers, Salamanca has flat pebbles, deposited on a beach, and reworked by waves.
"Rock City Park represents the largest exposure of the Olean Conglomerate. The rock units were first named in 1894. Every rock formation has to have a type locality showing the first and best exposure. Olean Conglomerate was described based on the rocks exposed at Rock City Park. Olean Conglomerate has a fairly small areal extent spanning southern NY, northwestern PA, and northeastern Ohio. The massive group of rocks in the northern portion of the Bradford Oil District is on a ridge of the Great Divide of the Alleghany Mountains.
"The Olean Conglomerate is an Oligomict quartz conglomerate (made of a single mineral) that contains beds of both paraconglomerates (contains more matrix than gravel) and orthoconglomerates (contains more gravel than matrix). The white, cloudy quartz clasts vary from discoids to spheroids that range in size from 0.3 centimeters to 4 centimeters. Bedding consists primarily of large tabular cross-beds and steep dipping foresets. In sandier beds, small channels can be observed."
RESOURCES ... Rock City Park ... Map ... University of Pittsburgh Bradford Educational Resource Guide