GC1GJ7E Garden of the Gods - Sentinel Rock
Type: Earth | Size: Other | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Me & Bucky @ | Hide Date: 09/23/2008 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 52.692 W104° 52.854 | Last updated: 06/19/2022 | Fav points: 0

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This EarthCache is located in Garden of the Gods Park, a Colorado Springs City Park. Park hours are as follows: May 1 – October 31, 5 am – 11 pm; November 1 – April 30, 5 am – 9 pm. There is no charge for entry into the park.

Sentinel Rock is composed of two of the rock formations which are found in the central part of the park: Fountain Arkose and Lyons Sandstone.

Fountain Arkose, found primarily on the west side of Sentinel Rock, is a conglomerate made up of coarse-grained sediments. An arkose is a rock formed from at least 25% feldspar, and the Fountain Arkose is composed of stream sediments which were deposited as gravels from the erosion of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains millions of years ago. Other rock formations found in the park which are composed of Fountain Arkose include Cathedral Spires, the Three Graces, and the Siamese Twins.

Lyons Sandstone, on the east side, is a quartz sandstone that is the remnant of a field of ancient sand dunes. Over time, the dunes were buried, compacted, and lithified (turned to rock). Ripple marks can be seen in the sandstone, as can cross-bedding which was caused by wind action on the dunes. North Gateway Rock, South Gateway Rock, White Rock, and the Sleeping Giant are all made of Lyons Sandstone. Different colors in these formations are caused by different amounts of iron oxide present in the rocks.

To log this EarthCache, send me an email with the answers to the following: 1.) How long ago were the layers deposited? 2.) Compare the particle size of the Fountain Arkose and the Lyons Sandstone. Which has the larger particles? 3.) Name at least one other way in which the Fountain Arkose and Lyons Sandstone are different.


Please consider posting photos of yourself, or the local geology, when you log this EarthCache. Photos can be an additional rewarding part of your journey, but posting them is not a requirement for logging this EarthCache, and is strictly optional.


The above information was compiled from the following sources:

Interpretive Sign at Site.

Colorado Springs City Webpage: Garden of the Gods Park. http://www.springsgov.com/page.asp?navID=987

Colorado Springs City Webpage: Important Events in Garden of the Gods Geology. http://www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=993

2007. Chronic H., and F. Williams. Roadside Geology of Colorado, 2nd Ed.

2004. Hopkins, R.L., and L.B. Hopkins. Hiking Colorado’s Geology

Thanks to the City of Colorado Springs and the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department for allowing placement of this EarthCache!

07/06/2019 By Martinss5
Great way to spend a few hours

07/03/2019 By OliversOuting
Visiting from Delaware and after a few days in Estes Park, we have made our way to Colorado Springs. tftc!

06/29/2019 By Paperballpark
#4747. Having walked up here eith a tour guide, I stuck around for a bit to do the earthcaches and take some photos. This was the first one I did. Answers have been sent to the CO. TFTC!

06/23/2019 By Folboter JAF
Took a two-and-a-half-week trip with my son (Folboter WBF) who had just graduated from high school. We went from Ohio through Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Calilfornia, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and back to Ohio. We visited lots of great spots like Carlsbad Caverns, San Diego, LA, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, and Pike's Peak. What a fantastic trip full of great memories!

And of course we did some geocaching along the way! We found caches in 82 new counties for us. We found five state's oldest caches (Tennessee, Texas, California, Nevada, and Colorado). We also visited seven webcams and found 22 virtuals, 19 earthcaches, various challenge caches, a few gadget caches, and lots of traditionals ... almost 200 total caches for the trip! Thanks to the cache owners for putting these great caches out there for us to enjoy on our trip!

Thanks for putting this informative and interesting earthcache together!

06/19/2019 By Saint Aubie
Last earth cache we found on our walking tour around the main formations. Sent answers to CO. TFTC!