This is an Earthcache – as such, there is no physical cache. Instead after examining the sandstone of the Evesham Friends Meeting House at the posted coordinates you will answer 4 questions and message me the answers. This is house is National Register of Historic Places and permission for this cache placement was given by the caretaker. Please be respectful and only visit during daylight hours.
MOUNT LAUREL
In 1698 William Evans gave this acre of land on Mount Laurel to the Society of Friends, and the first Friends Meeting House was built. The current meeting house is a large sandstone structure that was built in two sections in the 1700’s. Historians note that the meeting house was erected with the help of Native Americans, and it was built from Jersey Sandstone dug up from Mount Laurel across the street.
Mount Laurel reaches 164 Feet above sea level is one of the highest points in Burlington County. It is more of a hill by most standards, but it was given the name “mount” because everything else around it is flat (see topo map above).
Unlike other areas in South New Jersey, Mount Laurel is formed from a resistant deposit of gravel and sandstone, a remnant of one of the great rivers that crossed this area during the last ice age. Technically, Mount Laurel is a "Cuesta."
In geology a cuesta is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer, where the whole is somewhat tilted from the horizontal. The end result in a long and gentle backslope (called a dip slope) that conforms with the dip of resistant strata (also called a caprock). When erosion exposed the front of the slope, an escarpment (steep slope) was formed.
SANDSTONE
Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock composed primarily of sand-sized grains of mineral, rock, or other organic material. It is found throughout the world and is mined for use in construction. Sandstone contains a material that bands the sand grains together known as a cementing material, which contains silt or clay sized particles filling in the spaces between the grains of sand.
The grains of sand in sandstone have been reduced to their sand size through weathering, and they are transported and deposited via water, wind, or glacial action. Sandstone may contain larger sized grains, such as granules, but the rock would still be classified as sandstone if the primary component is sand-sized grains. The time and distance these sand grains have traveled will vary. If the sand is deposited near its source, the composition of the sandstone will more closely match the composition of the source rock. The longer the distance the sand grains have traveled will likely give the sandstone a more varying composition. More rounded grains indicate greater weathering and are an indication that the sand likely traveled a greater distance from its source rock.
The different colors seen in sandstone contribute to its uniqueness. Typically sandstone ranges in color from an off white, to tan, and to brown. Pure quartz is very light in color, so lighter colored sandstone would indicate a high quartz content and a low feldspar content. Feldspar has more of a dark amber color, so a greater feldspar content would tend to make the sandstone darker.
Other colors that appear are indications of different minerals within the sandstone. For example brown, red, and orange would indicate the presence of iron, or purple would indicate the presence of manganese.
LOGGING REQUIREMENTS:To log this Earthcache: Read the geology lesson above. Answer all four questions posted below. Answers can be sent via e-mail or messenger contacts on my Geocaching profile. Group answers are acceptable, just list all members of your group with your answers. Do not post the answers to the questions in your logs.
QUESTION 1. Why is Mount Laurel higher than most areas in South New Jersey?
QUESTION 2. Observe the color of stones that make up the house. Judging by the color, this sandstone has:
A. A high quartz content and a low feldspar content.
B. A low quartz content and a high feldspar content.
QUESTION 3. Do you observe any granules in this sandstone?
QUESTION 4. Observe at the hill across the street and at look at the topo map image in the write up. Is the the Meeting house at the base of the ENCARPMENT or the base of the DIP SLOPE of the Cuesta?
OPTIONAL PHOTO: Posting a photo that readily indicates that you (and anyone else logging the find) are at the location.
Awesnap has earned GSA's highest level:
REFERENCES:
1. Mt. Laurel Hill: A High Point of Interest, D.Eisenhuth, Courier-Post, May 27, 1971, Vol.96 No.101, Page 13, newspapers.com
2. Historic Meeting House a Source of Inspiration, E.Cuneo, Courier-Post, March 8, 1993, Page B1, newspapers.com
3. Area traced to Lenni-Lenape Indians, Courier-Post, June 24, 2004, Page 2SS, newspapers.com
4. Bedrock Geologic Map of New Jersey, New Jersey Geological and Water Survey, 2014, state.nj.us.pdf