LEARNING ADVENTURE – BALANCE
Rock City Park Entrance … N 42° 00.928 W 078° 28.394
Balanced Rock … N 42° 01.102 W 078° 28.692
Anvil Rock … N 42° 01.099 W 078° 28.702
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)
NOTE: Answers via message -and- 2 log signature pictures are required to post a find for this cache.
LAB
1a. MESSAGE …. Balance the bird on the base. / How does this relate to rocks balancing atop each other in nature?
1a. MESSAGE …. Balance the doll on your finger. / How does this relate to rocks balancing atop each other in nature?
1. MESSAGE …. Balance the Sky Hook at the end of your finger. See Hint if you need help. / How does this relate to rocks balancing atop each other in nature?
2. MESSAGE …. What are two environmental impacts of humans stacking rocks for recreational use?
3. LOG … Select 4 rocks from the three wire baskets (white covers at end of stone path). Create a balanced rock stack. For each placement, find a spot on the lower stone to place the upper stone using minimum contact between the two stones. Take a picture of your balanced rocks. This picture is your lab log signature. Keep one of the stones if you wish. Return the others.
LANGUAGE OF STONES … Receive an individualized mini-workshop on the Language of Stones (taught to me by Grandmother Twylah) focusing on the stone you chose to keep.
FIELD
ROCK CITY PARK … Open Memorial Day to Labor Day from 9 to 5
Alternatively … If you have visited a balanced rock anywhere in your travels and have a verification picture, you are welcome to use that field rock. Similar to the questions below, describe both rocks.
4a. MESSAGE …. Observe Balancing Rock. What differences are evident when viewed from different sides of the same rock?
4b. MESSAGE …. Observe Anvil Rock. What differences are evident when viewed from different sides of the same rock?
4c. MESSAGE …. Based on the reading and your observations, describe how Balancing Rock / Anvil Rock became balanced rocks.
5. LOG … Take a picture of you or your signature item at the balanced rock. This picture is your field log signature.
OPTIONAL – Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and 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 … prose / story / poem / picture. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
D. BALANCE PUZZLE PARTY … Contact me if you wish to participate in this activity. You will be given a series of hands-on balance puzzles to solve.
CENTER OF GRAVITY
The centre of mass is a point at which mass distribution is equal in all directions, and it doesn’t depend upon the gravitational field. The centre of gravity is a point in an object where the distribution of weight is equal in all directions, and it does depend on the gravitational field.
BALANCING ROCKS
A balancing rock, also called a balanced rock or precarious boulder, is a naturally occurring geological formation featuring a large rock or boulder, sometimes of substantial size, resting on other rocks, bedrock, or on glacial till. Some formations known by this name only appear to be balancing, but are in fact firmly connected to a base rock by a pedestal or stem. Grab describes the physical process of balancing rocks as “basically looking for points where they lock on one another”, saying that three points of contact are required between stones, with the placed rock’s center of mass having to be between those points for it to balance.
These unique rock formations are often the product of glacial transportation or landslides, resulting in large rocks or boulders perching atop others. Some formations are carved by nature, continuing to hold their balance even after extensive erosion by wind or water. Some hoodoos—tall, thin spires of rock—maintain their position at the top despite their base being reduced sufficiently, which creates a balanced rock.
FORMATION
DIFFERENTIAL WEATHERING
Differential Weathering occurs at different rates as a result of variations in composition of a rock. This results in an uneven surface where more resistant material protrudes above softer or less resistant parts.
GLACIAL ERRATIC
A boulder that was transported and deposited by glaciers or ice rafts to a resting place on soil, on bedrock, or on other boulders. It usually has a different lithology (rock composition) from the other rocks around it. Not all glacial erractics are balancing rocks; some are firmly seated on the ground. Some balancing erractics have come to be known as rocking stones, also known as logan rocks, logan stones, or logans, because they are so finely balanced that the application of just a small force may cause them to rock or sway. A good example of a rocking stone is the Logan Rock in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; another is the Trembling Rock in Brittany, France.
PERCHED BLOCK
Also known as a perched boulder or perched rock, this is a large, detached rock fragment that most commonly was transported and deposited by a glacier to a resting place on glacial till, often on the side of a hill or slope. Some perched blocks were not produced by glacial action, but were the aftermath of a rock fall, landslide, or avalanche.
EROSIONAL REMNANT
A persisting rock formation that remains after extensive wind, water, and/or chemical erosion. To the untrained eye, it may appear to be visually like a glacial erratic, but instead of being transported and deposited, it was carved from the local bedrock. Many good examples of erosional remnants are seen in Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve in the Northern Territory of Australia.
PEDESTAL ROCK
Also known as a rock pedestal or mushroom rock, this is not a true balancing rock, but is a single continuous rock form with a very small base leading up to a much larger crown. Some of these formations are called balancing rocks because of their appearance. The undercut base was attributed for many years to simple wind abrasion, but is now believed to result from a combination of wind and enhanced chemical weathering at the base where moisture would be retained longest. Some pedestal rocks sitting on taller spire formations are known as hoodoos.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Rock balancing (also stone balancing, or stacking) is a form of recreation or artistic expression in which rocks are piled in balanced stacks, often in a precarious manner. Conservationists and park services have expressed concerns that the arrangements of rocks can disrupt animal habitats, accelerate soil erosion, and misdirect hikers in areas that use cairns as navigation waypoints.
RESOURCES
Rock Balancing / Center of Gravity / Differential Weathering / Rock Balancing Man-Made / Balancing Rock Natural
TRAVEL
Around the World / Formation / 10 Famous Balancing Rocks Around the World / 10 Incredible Balanced Rocks To Discover Around The World That Defy All Logic / Natural Balanced Rocks / World’s 12 Most Amazing Balancing Rocks / The Balanced Rock Continues to Fascinate in North Salem
HINT
The Sky Hook will balance itself at the end of one’s finger under one condition – a leather belt is hung in its groove. The stiffness of the belt helps create the illusion that the hook and belt are defying the laws of gravity.