Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks EarthCache
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A very interesting geological feature involving volcanic eruption
and erosion. There is a $5.00 day use fee for entry into the
monument, or Golden Age Pass is accepted (for us old folks) Winter
Hours - Nov 1 to March 10: 8am to 5pm gates close at 4 pm Summer
Hours - March 11 to October 31: 7am to 7 pm gates close at 6 pm.
Visitors must be out by closing time.
The coordinates will bring you to a parking area in the
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument where you will hike into
a slot canyon to observe the effects of volcanic and erosion
elements.
The cone shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic
eruptions that occured 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice,
ash and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions
from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments),
while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent
avalanche called a "pyroclastic flow." In close inspections of the
arroyos, visitors will discover small, rounded translucent obsidian
(volcanic glass) fragments created by rapid cooling. Please leave
these fragments for others to enjoy.
Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder
caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have
lost their hard, resistant caprocks and are disintergrating. While
fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height
from a few feet to 90 feet. As a result of the uniform layering of
volcanic material, bands of grey are interspersed with beige and
pink-colored rock along the cliff face. Over time, wind and water
cut into these deposits creating canyons and arroyos, scooping
holes in the rock, and contouring the ends of small, inward ravines
into smooth semi-circles.
To log this cache you need to email the answers to 2 questions that
can be found on educational signs along the trail:
1- How were the deposits formed?
2- What do geologists call the deposits?
Not required but please send us a picture of you at SC12, one of
the education stops along the slot canyon. The terrain to this
point is rated at 2.5, if you decide to continue to the top of the
mesa it would be rated a 4. The views from the top are worth the
600 ft climb.
This is a sample of the picture you can post.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)