EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. ... "Geocachers must complete the tasks before they log the EarthCache as found." (4.3. EarthCache logging tasks)
Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
1. MESSAGE …. Based on the reading ... a. how high are the walls? / b. What is the angle of intersection?
2. MESSAGE …. a. What are the colors on the cliff walls? / b. What causes the colors? / c. Is there a difference in texture between the colors?
3. MESSAGE …. Why do you think this is called a box canyon?
4. LOG …. Post a picture at or near the coordinates. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in creating this earthcache by adding A and B to your log.
A. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
B. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
THANK YOU Chris Perry (Park Manager) and Robert Myers (State Park Naturalist) for permission to share this learning adventure. ... Your permit for the earthcache “Cascade Cave” is 19108CCSRP
THANK YOU Cav Scout, Platinum Earthcache Master for discovering and sharing this location.
THANK YOU LN for helping RT negotiate this challenging terrain
THE TRAIL
Box Canyon is on Box Canyon Trail, and is one of the most scenic trails in the park. It is a .75 mile loop trail beginning at the Cascade Caves parking lot, proceeding to the head of Box Canyon, and looping back to the parking area.
THE VALLEY
Most of the valley floor in this canyon is underlain by the Slade Formation. Box Canyon valley is largely a dry bed, because most of the drainage enters the subsurface through the many sinks. Only during major storms would we see any streamflow, You will encounter vertical walls of sandstone known as Carter Caves Sandstone. This sandstone represents a tidal-channel deposit that formed in Late Mississippian time when the area was dominated by extensive tidal currents. The sandstone walls are over 100' thick.
BOX CANYON
A massive joint is responsible for the formation of this valley. The canyon is a northwest–southeast-oriented karst solution valley or uvala that probably formed from a large, collapsed trunk cave. As you hike the trail, evidence of this is shown by the sink holes dotting the valley floor and the caves within the walls.
Erosion of overlying sands, shales, and limestones resulted in the exposure of the Carter Caves sandstone and the massive cliffs you see. Much of the sandstone roof has now been destroyed by erosion and collapse in the karst solution valleys or uvalas. The steep walls of the canyon are over 60 ft high. The square corners result from collapse of the sandstone along two sets of intersecting joints, at a nearly perfect 90° angle.
RESOURCES
Geology Tour ... YouTube
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1YZF1_box-canyon / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5428bm2B6pM&t=287s
Along the Trail ... These include liesegang bands (dissolution of iron compounds and their rhythmic precipitation as bands in the sandstone) -and- boxwork weathering (selective weathering of poorly cemented sandstones)
Boxwork weathering, cavernous weathering, alveolar weathering, stone lattice, beerock, honeycomb weathering, and talfoni. Plants may also exert a powerful force in weathering through root wedging and solution by organic acids.