Earthcache series

[+CanadianRockies]

I'm thinking about creating a series of perhaps a dozen Earthcaches that, together, would provide a solid introduction into the geology of the Canadian Rockies. One could think of them as 12 general lessons that form a basic overview for visitors to the mountains.

 

Each lesson would be tied to a specific geologic site. And while most sites would be closely related to their lesson, the connections could be looser at other sites. The Earthcache describing foothills geology, for example, might be located at a road cut that shows a small thrust fault and a small syncline. While the Earthcache description could contain ten paragraphs describing foothills geology, only one or two of those paragraphs might describe faults and folds.

 

I realize this sort of reverses the usual process of identifying an interesting geologic feature and writing information that explains it. Instead, I'll essentially be writing about general geology concepts and then locating sites that demonstrate those ideas.

 

So, is this a creative use of Earthcaches or a misuse of them? And how closely must the geologic site match the geologic concept that is being described?

Edited September 9, 2011 by CanadianRockies

[+TerryDad2]

I'm thinking about creating a series of perhaps a dozen Earthcaches that, together, would provide a solid introduction into the geology of the Canadian Rockies. One could think of them as 12 general lessons that form a basic overview for visitors to the mountains.

 

Each lesson would be tied to a specific geologic site. And while most sites would be closely related to their lesson, the connections could be looser at other sites. The Earthcache describing foothills geology, for example, might be located at a road cut that shows a small thrust fault and a small syncline. While the Earthcache description could contain ten paragraphs describing foothills geology, only one or two of those paragraphs might describe faults and folds.

 

I realize this sort of reverses the usual process of identifying an interesting geologic feature and writing information that explains it. Instead, I'll essentially be writing about general geology concepts and then locating sites that demonstrate those ideas.

 

So, is this a creative use of Earthcaches or a misuse of them? And how closely must the geologic site match the geologic concept that is being described?

An excellent idea and should be done more often. Relating EarthCaches to nearby EarthCaches to get a wider understanding is a tool that geocaching can utilize. Be sure to include links to the other caches in the series in the specific locations in the text that relate to them.

 

Each individual site should show a specific concept you are discussing and the questions relate to that concept. You can go on to explain other concepts as well.

Using your foothills example, your description must include an explanation of that particular fault or fault type in general and the question must be about the fault at that road cut. The description could include info on the regional timing, rock types, etc of the mountain building linking to those other sites that would be focused on just one (or a few) rock types in the mountains. Another could be on the geomorphology of hills where the rocks faulted vs folded.

 

These are just suggestions as it will be your series. Go make them up.

[+terratin]

TerryDad2 already gave a good answer so I only want to add:

I really would love to log such EC series It sounds like a marvelous idea.

 

Mrs Terratin

[+Team Pixos]

Sounds good to me; I love taking the kids to earthcaches

[+Touchstone]

So, is this a creative use of Earthcaches or a misuse of them? And how closely must the geologic site match the geologic concept that is being described?

 

I also think TerryDad2 summed it up pretty well. I don't believe there is an issue with introducing several related concepts in the Description, but one of the concepts should be relevant to what I'm looking at when I get to the posted coordinates.

 

Sounds like a a great idea. Good luck!

[+Flintstone5611]

I think that works well with the spirit of Earthcaching. I think that is a very creative and interesting use of a multi topic location. I hope it works out, it will be worth it.

[+CanadianRockies]

Thanks for all the encouraging replies. I'll go ahead and prepare two or three of these ECs, then run it by the local EC reviewer to see what they think of the idea.

[+geoawareCA]

I am the EarthCache Reviewer for Canada, so I would most likely be the one reviewing this series. It sounds like a good idea. TerryDad gave some good advice. Each site should highlight something unique and have logging tasks related to that feature. Otherwise, a series of inter-related EarthCaches sounds great. Feel free to send me a message through the link in my profile if you have any specific questions.

 

geoawareCA

[+CanadianRockies]

Feel free to send me a message through the link in my profile if you have any specific questions.

Thanks. I'm sure I'll have some questions along the way. We're hoping to hike and camp in the mountains this weekend, so we'll probably visit some potential EC sites and take a few pictures. After that, I'll begin writing.

[+geoaware]

I hope we can find a creative person to do the same in Maine so that people can do the series when they attend the 1st International Earthcache Event!

[+danieloliveira]

Great idea. Go for it.