If you wish to make arrangements with me, we can do this earthcache together.
FTF cacher discovered how enjoyable this cache was by bringing the ammo cans inside and giving the answers verbally.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers to log 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:
The fossil specimens are in ammo cans 4 5 6 7 located ... on wooden shelf / end of walkway / right side of garage.
NOTE: Answers via message -and- log signature picture are required to post a find for this cache.
1. MESSAGE / AMMO CAN 4 ….
a. There are several fossils within this rock. Identify at least two of them. ... Observe the thick rock with fossils.
b. Identify the organism displaying a prominent cast. What is the depth of the cast? ... Observe the thin rock with fossils.
c. A mystery ... Is this a fossil? Explain your decision. How do you think it was formed? This explanation can be scientific or creative. Your choice. ... Observe the thick rock with the imprint.
2. MESSAGE / AMMO CAN 5 ….
a. Who am I. We were the first ??? form of life on earth. Why am I considered an index fossil?
b. Who am I? My tentacles sticking out resembled a bunch of tiny ??? at one end.
c. Who am I? Did I live on land or in the water?
d. Who am I? Who are my modern day relatives? I am commonly called "???".
3. MESSAGE / AMMO CAN 6 ….
a. Who am I? Am I embedded in a matrix? Explain.
b. Who are we? Large marine ??? are called ???.
c. Who am I? My name means "xxx".
d. Who am I? I am a sea ???. I am an ancestor of the ??? and ???.
4. MESSAGE / AMMO CAN 7 ….
a. Who are we? How do we compare with our modern day relatives? Why must scientists use these to piece together my history?
b. What am I? We are called "???".
c. Who am I? How are my body parts arranged?
d. I am petrified, but am neither plant nor animal. What am I? How was I formed? How is my petrification different than the petrification of plants/animals?
5. LOG …. Take a picture of you or your signature item with one of the two large fossil rocks located in front of the wooden cabinet with the geocaching sign. In Ammo Can 8 are additional fossils. You are welcome to take one if you wish.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and creating this earthcache by adding C and D to your log.
A. FOSSIL CASTS ... The fossil casts are in ammo cans 1 2 3 located … on wooden shelf / end of walkway / right side of garage. Information and questions are at end of page.
B. FOSSIL HUNT CHALLENGE ... We found this rock (at the Walmart ste) with several crinoid stems embedded in the underside. If you find this (or a similar one) bring to rainbowtree for a special gift.
C. 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.
D. 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 ... prose / story / poem / picture. 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 bd's for gifting the fossils that will be added to this cache.
FOSSILS
Fossils are the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism.
LOCAL FOSSILS ... N 41° 58.767 W 078° 36.595
Most of the fossils in Ammo Can 8 were found embedded in the shale bank at the local Walmart. These fossils are predominantly molds, The most common are two arthropods - brachiopods and trilobites. This is among the most accessible places to hunt fossils that we have encountered. This area was once covered by a warm, shallow sea. Organisms that died were buried under tons of sediment, many becoming fossilized. Since most of McKean County was left unglaciated, these fossils were not destroyed by the grinding action of the glaciers.
LOCAL FOSSILS ... GCAD53P
An awesome place to hunt for fossils is at the Penn Dixie Fossil Park. This is a relatively short distance from the posted coords with the fossils found there also found locally. Some of these fossils are in ammo can 5.
MATRIX
The rock the fossils are embedded in is called the matrix. This can vary from soft to hard.
SOFT - You can use your fingers and a brush to extract the fossils.
HARD - Use of a tool is needed to extract the fossils.
TYPES - There are FOUR main types of fossils.
TRUE FORM - actual animal or animal part.
MOLD - impression
CAST - formed when a mold is filled in
TRACE - evidence left by the organism like burrows, footprints, etc.
FOSSILIZATION - There are SIX ways that organisms turn into fossils.
UNALTERED - insects trapped in amber (hardened form of tree sap
PERMINERALIZATION and PETRIFICATION - minerals replace the tissues
REPLACEMENT - minerals replace the hard parts
CARBONIZATION - only the carbon remains
RECRYSTALIZATION - small crystals turn into larger crystals
AUTHIGENIC - molds and casts that have been destroyed or dissolved
INDEX FOSSILS
Index Fossils are "the forms of life which existed during limited periods of geologic time and thus are used as guides to the age of the rocks in which they are preserved."
RESOURCES
https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/fossils.html / SP World's End Fossils https://coord.info/GC7NMVG
Fossil Hunt https://coord.info/GC6QD37 / Fossils - The Record of Life - Hubbard Scientific Lab
https://www.earthreminder.com/classification-of-animals/ forams
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FOSSIL CASTS
All are embedded in a soft matrix.
Use the following number to save writing out the names of the organisms ...
01 Acanthoscaphites Cretaceous - 02 Carcharodon Recent - 03 Crinoid Mississippian - 04 Eospirifer Silurian - 05 Equus Recent - 06 Flexicalymene Ordovician-Silurian - 07 Meekoceras Triassic - 08 Merychippus Miocene - 09 Michelinoceras Ordovician - 10 Mucrospirifer Devonian - 11 Muensteroceras Mississippian - 12 Neospirifer Pennsylvanian - 13 Oleneothyris Cretaceous - 14 Pecten Miocene - 15 Pentremites Mississippian - 16 Phacops Devonian - 17 Spirifer Mississippian - 18 Tetragramma Cretaceous - 19 Turritella Miocene - 20 Venericardia Recent
Here are the number of organisms for each of the taxonomy categories ...
2 ARTHROPODA - 5 BRACHIOPODA - 3 CHORDATA - 3 ECHINODERMATA - 5 MOLLUSCA Cephalopoda - 2 MOLLUSCA Pelecypoda
An example answer would be ... CHORDATA 02 05 08
1. MESSAGE / AMMO CAN 1 …. Find the six casts embedded in the matrix. Use the charts to identify the fossils, the geological time period each organism lived, and the taxonomy.
2. MESSAGE / AMMO CAN 2 …. Find the seven casts embedded in the matrix. Use the charts to identify the fossils, the geological time period each organism lived, and the taxonomy.
3. MESSAGE / AMMO CAN 3 …. Find the seven casts embedded in the matrix. Use the charts to identify the fossils, the geological time period each organism lived, and the taxonomy.
A ... This chart illustrates all the fossil casts (time) found in the ammo cans.
B ... This chart illustrates all the fossil casts (taxonomy) found in the ammo cans.
C ... This chart shows Index Fossils for each Period in the Geologic Time Scale
D ... This chart shows common fossils found in Pennsylvania.