Geocaching with sox06

Posted By Larry on February 25, 2009

Next to virtual caches (which are now apparently a thing of the past), our next favorite type of cache is the earthcach. As Shirley mentioned in her blog “What is a Cache?” earthcaches offer a physical science lesson. They are generally special places that people can visit to learn about unique geo-science features or aspects of our Earth. Earthcaches include a set of educational notes and the details about where to find the location (latitude and longitude). For more information about Earthcaches, visit http://www.earthcache.org/ sponsored by the main site at http://www.geocaching.com . The following are some of our favorite earthcaches:
Dinosaur Footprints (GCNP8D), located in Holyoke, MA along the ancient shore line of the Connecticut River, is a visible example of pre-human life on earth. We have all heard and read of dinosaur existence but to see 134 actual footprints of two legged carnivorous dinosaurs from 190 million years ago encased in sandstone (once ancient mudflats) is truly awesome! This earthcache location is also special to both Shirley and I since it was our first exposure to geocaching.

Out of Africa (GC1B0WN), had us visiting the rocky shoreline of Jamestown, RI. What was most interesting about this location is that these rock formations are only found here and along the western shorelines of southern Europe and northern Africa. It is said to be a strong example of the theory of continental drift and the supposition that we were once connected to both of those other two continents. Quite remarkable when you think about it!

Four Falls Earthcache (GCQHZM), These falls are located along the Limestone River in New Brunswick, Canada. We visited the site in June of 2008. It is said that it is best to visit in the spring when the runoff is at its peak. This location is said to be second only to Niagara Falls for the total volume of water going over the falls.

On a recent vacation to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in September of 2008 we found some great earthcaches that were quite unique and much different from those in New England:

Miners Castle (GC15QNT) and Munising Falls (GC1E6AV) were located in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Park along the shore of Lake Superior in Munising, Michigan.
Minor’s Castle was a spectacular quartz and sandstone formation (resembling a castle) located within the Pictured Rocks high cliffs. Munising Falls is located along a “nick” in the sandstone cliffs that lead to Lake Superior. The Pictured Rock cliffs are truly remarkable and are a “must see” if you are ever in the Munising area. You can get to specific spots by car but the cliffs really have to be seen by boat  to get the true extent, scope and color of the landscape. Boat tours are available out of Munising.

Black Rocks Earthcache (GC1DTR3) is located in the Presque Isle portion of Marquette, Michigan. Here you get to stand on black lava Precambrian rocks which arose from the earth’s mantle and are over 1 billion years old. The line of separation between the lighter sandstone overburden and the black color of the mantle rock is striking.

The World’s Largest Gemstone (GC1C6F1), is located in the city of Ishpeming, Michigan. It is locally referred to as Jasper Knob with a claim to be the world’s largest gemstone. We weren’t quite sure what to expect here. Access to the site was through an old residential section of town that doesn’t appear to get many visitors. One resident on a porch stared at us from the moment we left the car until we returned. The hill we climbed can best be described as a huge rock outcrop with some trees growing on it. At the top of the hill we found ourselves standing atop of a huge outcrop of Jaspilite which is a banded iron formation (BIF) rock outcrop comprised of bands of red jasper, and both red and silvery-gray hematite (iron ore). This outcrop has been dated at over 1 billion years old and represents another portion of the earth’s inner core that was pushed up and is now exposed. This was one of those little “gems” of a location that we would never have visited if it were not for geocaching.

Many earthcaches in the northern portion of the United States (our New England states in particular) involve rock and land formations left behind by the last known glacier. Many of these caches involve some type of “glacial erratic” which is simply defined as – a piece of rock that deviates from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Several of our earthcache finds fall into this category. A few notable examples from our favorites list are:

Rocking Stones Earthcache (GC19JJN), located in Rocking Stone Park in Barre, Mass., is an example of rocks left in a seemingly fragile state of balance constantly defying gravity.

Doane Rock (GCZDAZ) in Eastham, Mass. and The Rock (GC138PK) in Framingham, Mass. are examples of huge glacial erratics. Doane rock is an 1,800 ton erratic that is said to be one of the largest in southern New England and the largest one on Cape Cod.

Purgatory Chasm (GCZEYV) is located in Sutton, Mass. It is a quarter mile long ravine whose origin has puzzled many geologists over the years. The most popular theory is that it was carved out of glacial meltwater.

I could go on and on and list others but I am sure by now you get the gist of why we like earthcaches so much. You can be assured that visits to earthcaches will be an important part of future vacations as we travel to other parts of the country.

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