This is an Earthcache – as such, there is no physical cache. Instead after examining the building stone at the posted coordinates you will answer 5 questions and message me the answers. This earthache is located at the Handley Library and is availiable 24/7. For more information about hours of operation or to learn more about the history of this library please visit this LINK to go the Handley Regional Library System webpage.

HANDLEY REGIONAL LIBRARY

In 1895 Judge John Handley left funds for the construction of a library "for the free use of the people of the city of Winchester forever." Indiana Limestone was chosen for the building and construction began in 1908. Work on the Handley Library was completed in 1913 and the result of the Judge’s gift is perhaps Virginia's purest expression of florid Beaux Arts classicism.

INDIANA LIMESTONE

Indiana limestone is a sedimentary rock that formed in a coastal ecosystem under a shallow inland sea over 350 million years ago in an area of Indiana is known as the Salem Formation. The warm tropical water was shallow enough for waves to move coarse carbonate sand across the seafloor. Constant wave action washed away the smallest particles, whereas the larger fossils were battered and broken. Over time these accumulated debris under pressure solidified into limestone. The process of sediments such as this turning to stone is referred to as lithification.

Indiana Limestone exhibits three colors: gray, buff, and variegated (includes patterns of both gray and buff). It is soft and easily worked when quarried, but once the quarried rock dries it becomes case-hardened, that is, its surface becomes harder and more resistant to weathering.

USES IN OTHER NOTABLE ARCHITECTURE

With its excellent physical properties, good workability, fire resistance, durability, and sustainability, Indiana Limestone is one of the most used and versatile building stones in the United States. At one time it was estimated that 60–80% of important US stone buildings were built with Indiana Limestone. The first government building to be faced with this stone was the old Department of the Interior building at 18th and F Streets NW (now the General Services Administration), which was completed in 1917. Other examples of its use in architecture are the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and the Empire State Building in New York, NY.

LOGGING REQUIREMENTS:

To log this Earthcache: Read the geology lesson above. Answer all five questions posted below. Answers can be sent via e-mail or messenger contacts on my Geocaching profile. Do not post the answers to the questions in your logs.

QUESTION 1. Is limestone sedimentary or igneous?

QUESTION 2. Touch the limestone wall near the front door. Is it rough-grained or fine-grained? How about grains on the columns? Which is smoother?

QUESTION 3. What colors can you see in the limestone?

QUESTION 4. Look closely at the limestone walls. Describe the sediments that make up of the stone.

QUESTION 5. Find Winchester on the Shallow Inland Sea map above. Would this area be a good place for Salem Limestone to form?

POST PHOTO. Posting a photo that readily indicates that you (and anyone else logging the find) are at the location. You do not have to show your face, but the photo should be personalized by you or a personal item. Your background should include a view of the Handley Library. NOTE: Per newly published Earthcache guidelines, this requirement is REQUIRED to claim the find.

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