Monsey Glen EarthCache
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This is a short walk through Monsey Glen Park. The total trail length is 0.57 miles. It is a dirt hiking path and not very steep.
Several Indian tribes lived in this area and utilized the sandstone for shelter. Some sandstones are resistant to weathering, yet are easy to work. This makes sandstone a common building and paving material. Because of the hardness of the individual grains, uniformity of grain size, and friability of its structure, sandstone is an excellent material from which to make grindstones, for sharpening blades and other implements.
Most of Rockland County is located in the Newark basin. This basin is the result of processes spanning hundreds of millions of years. The movement of continents opened an ancient ocean, closed it, and finally opened it again, forming the present-day Atlantic Ocean. After the last closure (about 300 million years ago), it would have been possible to walk east from Rockland to Morocco. At that time, the rocks on which the Newark basin are now deposited lay deep beneath a substantial mountain range. As Africa pulled away from North America, the rocks of these ancient mountains began to stretch and erode, causing the range to subside until it was near sea level. During this stretching process, a series of fault-bounded depressions formed along the eastern margin of North America, from South Carolina to Nova Scotia, and began to fill with sediments. As the downward motion of one side of a fault formed a basin, the upward motion of the other side would form mountains, some of which could have stood as high as 12,000 feet. The remnants of these ancient mountains today are the Ramapo Highlands, which bound the northwest side of Rockland County and, since they comprise the oldest rocks found there, are key to understanding the geology of the county. The fault that separates the uplifted Highlands from the sediment-filled basin is called the Ramapo fault. (It is evident in the sharp change in elevation seen when one drives east from Suffern on Interstate 287.) Material eroded from the ancient Highlands filled the Newark basin and gave us the red rocks that are seen today throughout the area. The bulk of these rocks were deposited between 230 and 200 million years ago, during the Triassic and the earliest part of the Jurassic Periods.
To get credit for this earthcache, please email the cache owner the following:
1. How many steps are carved into the sandstone?
2. Email the cache owner the names of the tribes who used to live in this area. There used to be an interpretive sign at the parking area with this information, but it too is now history. Let me give you a hint. 😜
3. Post of picture of yourself with GPS in hand near the steps or a shelter (or just the items in question if you are shy!) This is completely optional as of 1/1/2011.
4. Email the cache owner a description of the color and texture of the sandstone. Please also note and describe any other rocks you may find in the area.
If I do not have the answers emailed or messaged to me in 24 hours, your found log will be deleted.
A trail map can be found here.
Congrats to MountainRacer on FTF!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)