Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized mineral particles or rock fragments. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because they are the most resistant minerals to weathering processes at the Earth's surface. Like uncemented sand, sandstone may be any color due to impurities within the minerals, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with certain regions.
Rock formations that are primarily composed of sandstone usually allow the percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs. Fine-grained aquifers, such as sandstones, are better able to filter out pollutants from the surface than are rocks with cracks and crevices, such as limestone or other rocks fractured by seismic activity.
Most of the sediment across Middle Tennessee was deposited from the Ordovician to the Mississippian, roughly between 400 and 300 million years ago. The sediment was primarily deep ocean limestones with some shale layers. Mississippian limestones are generally thicker than those of the Ordovician, and additionally, more cherty. In the Ordovician, the Appalachian Mountains began to form and by the end of the Paleozoic were tall peaks. During the Pennsylvanian, the Cumberland Plateau formed along the edge of the Appalachians as beach and shore sediments, primarily sandstone today.
Since White County is at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, it was once underwater. The wall you are looking at was once a deep ocean bed and over the years of drying out the limestone has turned into sandstone. Since it was an ocean bed there are many examples of fossil life in the rock wall. They are mainly sea type fossils looking like bugs or spiral type of fossils. To log this earthcache please answer the following questions and email or message to our profile.
1.) What colors do you see in the structures, why are these colors prevalent and do you think this gives it the name?
2.) Why is there a is variance in the thickness of the layers? What geological changes to you believe caused this variance?
3.) How many different colors do you see? Why do you feel the colors are different in the layers?
4.) Why do you believe there is a honeycomb look to the rocks? What forces do you believe caused this?
5.) Take a pic of you or your party at the area. (optional)
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