A Walk in Wildwood Park

Developed by Desley Boardman and Donna Graham

Fall 2004

Animal trails: This is evidence of one kind of animal that lives in Wildwood Park.

What kind of animal do you think made this trail?

Why?

This is some evidence of animals that live in the park.

Who might live here?

This is the opening to the Indian Cave. There are many kinds of rocks here.

On the hike you will climb in the cave to identify

conglomerate rock and look for fossils.

The stick is someone’s abandoned

walking stick. Do you

think you could fit through this opening?

Notice the bigger rocks in this section of conglomerate.

What would it take to move these big rocks?

Why do you think this bark is green?

It is covered with a plant called lichen, a non-flowering plant. Look for it on trees, rocks or the ground.

What red thing is hanging from the tree?

This is a closer view of the red thing. Notice how it is attached to the branch. It is called a GALL. It is a house made by an insect called

a GALL-WASP.

Why do you think there is a hole in the bottom of this gall? Why isn’t it as shiny as the other one?

.

Look at this layered sedimentary rock. See how it is broken away in straight lines.

Notice the plant growing straight out of the rock.

Look at this stripe of rock in the hillside. It is called a dike and is formed when lava escapes from a volcano by filling cracks in rocks. This action is called intrusion.

The middle stripe comes from a volcano so what kind of rock is it?

These cat tails are found by the creek. See if you can find the seeds from the cat tails on the ground.

You might see flowers along the trails. Use your five senses to locate as many

kinds of wildlife as possible.

This plant is called poison oak and will give you a very bad rash if you touch it or get it on your clothes. It can have red, green, or even yellowish leaves. The leaves are grouped in threes. Be careful NOT to

go near these leaves.

This is Paradise Falls. Notice how the path of the creek is not straight, but curves in and out. Why do you think this is so?

This is the pond at the bottom of the waterfall. We will look for evidence of life at the bottom of the pond.

Look at the vertical layers of rock in the picture. What would cause the layers to move from horizontal to vertical?