This Fold isn't for Sheep EarthCache
This Fold isn't for Sheep
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This is not a typical Geocache. There is no container to find and no physical log to sign at the coordinates. Instead you will be able to enjoy and learn about an important geological feature of southeastern Oklahoma. To log this Earthcache, you must email me the answers to the questions asked at the bottom of the page. If you do not send me the correct answers within a week of logging this cache, I will have to delete your log, as per Earthcache rules.
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There is only one real mountain range in North America between the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains—the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas. The Ouachitas once stood as tall as the Rockies, but they are much older, and so their high, jagged peaks eroded away over millions of years. The ridges of the Appalachians and Rockies generally run north/south, but the ridges of the Ouachitas generally run east/west.
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The reason for this is simple: the Ouachitas were formed 300 million years ago when the tectonic plates of North and South America collided, slowly compressing the bed of a sea that lay between them, folding the rock layers into a series of arches and troughs. Further tectonic action thrust the layers upwards to form mountains.
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Arched folds have the hinge or center (inner curve) on the bottom. Folds that appear as troughs have the hinge or center on top (the sides rise up above the lowest point of the formation). Generally speaking, when you find rock formations with the layers just as they were deposited (youngest on top), the arches are called anticlines and the troughs are called synclines.
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Some rocks formations have been inverted, however. At some point in time they've been turned over, and the oldest layers are on the top. If that is the case, then the arches would be called antiformal synclines, and the troughs would be called synformal anticlines.
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See image labeled "Folds" below.
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Look at the right-hand sign at the Vista. It will orient you to the view before you—from left to right, you are seeing Kiamichi Mountain, the Kiamichi Valley, Simmons Mountain, Rough Mountain, and Winding Stair Mountain.
To log this EarthCache send me the answers to the following questions:
1. There is a diagram of the trough between the Simmons and Rough mountains on the sign. Based on the definition of folds above and the view you see before you—are the youngest rocks on the top or the bottom?
2. Where did the rocks you are standing on originate?
3. Lastly--and this one is totally optional--take a picture of yourself with the Vista in the background and post it on the cache page so that we build a nice photo gallery of the area at different times of the year.
Thanks for visiting my Earthcache! I look forward to your email!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)