GC65A7A Orogeny
Type: Earth | Size: Other | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: iocane @ | Hide Date: 10/18/2015 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N39° 25.283 W105° 04.159 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
                           

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A day at the Roxborough

This cache is in Colorado's scenic Roxborough State Park. As of October, 2015 there is a $7 charge per vehicle to enter the park. The park gates open at 8:00Am and close at 6:00PM. Check current times and rates to be sure.

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Along the short hiking path from the parking lot to the trailhead leading to the cache, there is an exposed piece of red rock that visitors are welcome to touch.  Stop here on your way to the trailhead and explore the area. (there will be a quiz later)

From the trailhead the cache is located about 1 mile up along the Carpenter Peak trail.

Sit at the bench provided at the cache coordinates and enjoy the incredible view as you face the north east.  All along your view spanning 180 degrees from your left to your right you will notice several examples of red rock outcroppings that are part of the much larger "Fountain Formation".

This beautiful dark red rock is made of pure evil ejected directly from the depths of the underworld a sedimentary sandstone conglomerate. The deep red/orange color is caused by the oxidation, or rusting, of the iron materials present in the rock. Rocks of the Fountain Formation were formed in the late Pennsylvanian age between 290 ad 296 million years ago.

The Fountain Formation is 1350m thick. Parts of it are exposed at several locations across the front range of Colorado due to erosion in the form of ice, water, and wind grinding away at the overlaying layers of rock and exposing the sedimentary rock underneath. You may see examples of exposed rocks in the Fountain Formation in various other locations in Colorado such as Red Rocks Park near Morrison, the Flatirons near Boulder, and the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs.

Orogeny (mountain building) [aw-roj-uh-nee] refers to forces that cause a structural deformation of the Earth's crust. The forces at work were caused by the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates which began around 70 million years ago and lasted for tens of millions of years. This was called the Laramide orogeny. The interaction of the tectonic plates caused the formation of long tracts of deformed rock called orogens. The movement of the tectonic plates caused the rock to uplift into the steep slopes that you can see all around you.

More information about the process is available here: http://geology.wikia.com/wiki/Orogeny

In order to claim credit for logging a find for this geocache, please visit the cache coordinates and send me an email with your answers to the following questions:

1. Approximately how many major formations can you see from this location? What is the approximate angle of tilt (above horizontal) of the formations?

2. What direction do the outcroppings tilt? Why do you suppose this is?

3. How does the exposed rock feel to the touch? (see paragraph 2)

4. What do you find most interesting about this area? (optional)

Enjoy your time in this beautiful place and feel free to post pictures of the area.

Additional Waypoints

T165A7A - Carpenter's Peak Trail Head
N 39° 25.770 W 105° 04.169
Visitor's Center and Trail Head

03/19/2019 By Pebblesinthecity
What a beautiful area! Will send answers later, but did enjoy hanging out on the bench here. Thanks for the cache.

01/13/2019 By PiTime
What a breathtaking view, this state is full of surprises and it just keeps showing me a new side with each hike that we do. Atomic Corgi and I wanted to get out and adventure a little bit after a day of applying to jobs and being cooped up in the apartment.

We made the drive here and Atomic Corgi's car fared well on the gravel road that led us into the park. On our way in, we were both taking off guard by the amazing view of the red rock looming over the white snow. What a time of the year to come here, truly one of a kind.

We started our hike from the parking lot and soon learned that this place closed in a couple of hours. That was a little disappointing because we had hopes of getting to Carpenter Peak and realized that that probably wasn't going to be an option today.

Even still, I threw the spikes on and we set out with high hopes and we made some good progress. By the time that we got here, we had a pretty fast pace going and took a short break to take in the encapsulating view. I FaceTime'd my ma but unfortunately the signal wasn't doing so hot.

A couple of pictures and we continued to trek up. About a little under a mile later and we were on our way back down. I'd like to come back here and do this one again when we have more time and the weather is slightly warmer. I'm really glad we had the chance to make it out here though.

TFTC!

07/24/2018 By Back Country Horsemen
This was my 2nd visit to this EC. The 1st time I forgot to log it & I couldn't find my answers. The weather was very hot so I tried to stand in the little bit of shade & record my answers. Even though it was over 95 degrees there were still muggles out & three of them came right to GZ just as I was about to attempt my selfie. Since they were of the age to be experts at selfies I felt self conscious & walked back towards the main trail to take mine.
Answers have been sent.

07/17/2018 By fearthefish
Apparently I am no longer able to find a cache without being accompanied by the lovable and always cheerful herndonrd. Today was no exception, as I was out and about caching with herndonrd simply because I make him look good. He typically finds the caches while I look in all the wrong places. We were on a special mission today as we were both finding and maintaining the caches in the Yellow Brick Road series so I could adopt them from the cache owner.

Since your Earthcache was along the way, we could not resist the urge to stop and enjoy the view. Herndonrd was kind enough to write down all the answers and has submitted them on behalf of both of us. Thanks for the fun Earthcache and for getting me outside on such a beautiful day.

P. S. No animals (humans or otherwise) were harmed in the writing of this log.

07/17/2018 By herndonrd
Out caching today with FeartheFish and like usual driving his butt all over the place. Dragged him up the side of the mountain so that he could find all the yellow brick road caches before he adopts them. This one was along the way so we stopped and got it since I need earth caches. Answers sent to the CO. TFTC!

07/03/2018 By BethKatzPA
My #2457 with David on a toasty, but not overwhelming, summer morning. We didn't see where the Visitor Center was hidden, so we parked in some shade (one lot closer to entrance) and made our way up the hilly trails. We saw 4 separate deer enjoying the park - one munching near wildflowers, one lounging in the woods, one we startled, and one we saw ignore a jogger that went close by it. The view from here and a little further up the trail was splendid despite the somewhat hazy conditions. We didn't go all the way up to the peak but made it a great 5-mile round trip. Answers coming later this evening. TFTC.

02/27/2018 By Rohatx
Made the stop here to admire the view and Fountain formations. My goal was specific and this earth cache was along the way. Thank you for bringing me here and enjoying the park!