Papa was a Rolling Stone EarthCache

In order to claim this Earthcache, Read the information below and submit your answers to the questions under the How to Log this Earthcache section. There is no physical container. Observe the best you can. The objective is to learn and have fun.

Congrats to bridriz on being FTF!!

I'm Depending on You to tell Me the Truth:

Sandstone* (sometimes known as arenite) is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.

Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with certain regions.

Sandstone boulders are formed from cemented grains that may either be fragments of a pre-existing rock or be mono-minerallic crystals. The cements binding these grains together are typically calcite, clays, and silica. Grain sizes in sands are defined (in geology) within the range of 0.0625 mm to 2 mm (0.002–0.079 inches). Clays and sediments with smaller grain sizes not visible with the naked eye, including stiltstones and shales, are typically called argillaceous sediments; rocks with larger grain sizes, including breccias and conglomerates, are termed rudaceous sediments.

The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages. First, a layer or layers of sand accumulates as the result of sedimentation either from water (as in a stream, lake, or sea) or from air (as in a desert). Typically, sedimentation occurs by the sand settling out from suspension; i.e., ceasing to be rolled or bounced along the bottom of a body of water or ground surface (e.g., in a desert or erg). Finally, once it has accumulated, the sand becomes sandstone when it is compacted by the pressure of overlying deposits and cemented by the precipitation of minerals within the pore spaces between sand grains.

The most common cementing materials are silica and calcium carbonate, which are often derived either from dissolution or from alteration of the sand after it was buried. Colours will usually be tan or yellow (from a blend of the clear quartz with the dark amber feldspar content of the sand). A predominant additional colourant in the southwestern United States is iron oxide, which imparts reddish tints ranging from pink to dark red (terracota), with additional manganese imparting a purplish hue. Red sandstones are also seen in the Southwest and West of Britain, as well as central Europe and Mongolia. The regularity of the latter favours use as a source for masonry, either as a primary building material or as a facing stone, over other construction.

Wherever he laid his hat was his home:

The environment where it is deposited is crucial in determining the characteristics of the resulting sandstone, which, in finer detail, include its grain size, sorting, and composition and, in more general detail, include the rock geometry and sedimentary structures. Principal environments of deposition may be split between terrestrial and marine, as illustrated by the following broad groupings:

• Terrestrial environments

1. Rivers (levees, point bars, channel sands)
2. Alluvial fans
3. Glacial outwash
4. Lakes
5. Deserts (sand dunes and ergs)

• Marine environments

1. Beach and shoreface sands
2. Tidal flats
3. Offshore bars and sand waves
4. Storm deposits (tempestites)
5. Turbidites (submarine channels and fans)

How to Log This Earthcache (Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day):

Send me your answers BEFORE logging the find.

In order to claim the find, send me an email using the link just below the Earthcache title with the answers to the following questions:

1) The processes that make up this boulder are completely natural. However, this is unlikely the spot that this boulder formed. How do you think this boulder got here?

2)  What material most likely makes up this Sandstone boulder?

3) Is the surface of the boulder smooth or rough?

4) In what environment do you think this boulder was formed?

5) What does your GPS receiver say is the elevation at your present location? If you do not have a GPS with you, use your phone. many phones  and several geocaching apps can tell you your present elevation.

6) (Optional) This is not required for logging this Earthcache, but it makes for a fun memory of your find. Post a picture of yourself or your entourage anywhere in the rest area.

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your time in the Silver State!

*Souce: Wikipedia