Curious Gorge EarthCache
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The above coordinates will bring you to the parking area for Gorge Park. From there you will take a nice hike along the Gorge Trail.
Gorge Trail lies above the north bank of the Cuyahoga River at the furthest southern reach of the river. After the river flows through the gorge, it heads back north to Lake Erie. The major features along the trail are sharon conglomerate ledges which dominate the scene for most of the length of the trail. When hiking this trail, you will notice a number of features along the way. One of the more common phenomena is "pudding stone" which appears as small round stones embedded within the sandstone of the ledges, giving the rocks the appearance of a chunky english pudding.
Another stone feature that the trail has to offer are "Lucky Stones" These stones are smooth white quartz pebbles that are found in layers and scattereted througout the Sharon conglomerate and sandstone.
The trail winds its way among the broken up rocks that have fallen from the ledges over the years. Muddy areas in the trail are caused by numberous seeps and springs. These springs are formed when the water, which flows through the porous sandstone, meets the relatively impermeable shale which lies beneath the sandstone ledges. The shale is formed of compressed and hardened clay, and will not let the water sink any further into the earth, so the water is forced to travel horizontally along the shale until it reaches an edge, hence the springs and seeps that are common at the base of sandstone ledges. (neonaturalist.com)
Please walk along the Gorge trail and answer the following questions which pertain to the different kind of stones you will see along the way. When going to log your find please email me the answers to the questions and post your picture with your log. Any logs without pictures will be deleted.
Trailhead:
N41 07.261 W081 29.621
Stop 1:
N41 07.408 W081 29.693
What kind of stones are located here? How were they formed?
Stop 2:
N41 07.482 W081 29.801
What kind of stone here allows water to pass through it easily? When large pieces of this kind of stone breaks off what does it form?
Stop 3:
N41 07.467 W081 30.124
What kind of stones are located in this location? Where can you usually find this kind of stone and why?
Please post a picture of one of your favorite stone with GPSr or your group in picture.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ernq gur fvtaf naq bofreir gur fprarel!