Modified
from: D.
Nutty
Rassle Knoll is one of several low desert hills east of
The cave
entrance is on nearly level ground in the saddle of a small spur of Rassle Knoll. MF-45 lists the formation as cherty limestone
120-140 ft thick. Very close to the west, is a bed of fossiliferous
limestone and dolomite 380-400 feet thick; to the east is an extensive bed of
The entire
area is very fossiliferous; broken and badly
weathered crinoid stems and horned coral are
abundant. Prof. Paper 107 p.41 has a long list of identified varieties which
indicate the limestone belongs to the upper Mississippian Era.
There is
little doubt that the major speleogenesis of
Anciently the
region has undergone an era of hydrothermal activity of five successive stages.
First there was a hydrothermal dolomitization which
also increased particle size and porosity, White to creamy veinlets
in the country rock were deposited at this time and consist of dolomite and
some calcite. The second stage was an argryllic
alteration, which resulted in some "kaolinized"
areas. Kaolinite is a clay-like Hydrous Aluminum
Silicate (H4Al2 Si2O9). The third
stage was a jasperoid alteration depositing some fine
grained quartz. The fourth stage was a calcitic
alteration. Zones of red hematite impregnated calcite occur throughout the
area. This material, termed by Proctor "Ferruginous Calcite" may be the source
of the red color in the "Navajo Blanket" formation in
The altering
fluids of this activity seem to have been hot dilute solutions of mixed
chlorides, (MgC12, CaC12) and sulfides, H2S
being the major compound. The country rock still bears some Hydrogen Sulfide.
These may have been the primary dissolving agents in the caves phreatic history, or perhaps played a significant part in
the chemistry of the dissolving process.
Nodules of chert are exposed throughout the cave and are apparently
the source of much of the mud and silt found inside. In the damper portions of
the cave it is soft, while in other areas it is very hard. When it is damp and
crumbly, light and rapid squeezing will cause it to change to a viscous fluid
about the consistency of warm honey. If it is allowed to dry and then is worked
again, it takes on the feel and characteristics of the synthetic compound sold
in toy stores under the name of Nutty Putty. The cave gets its name from the
abundance of this material which looks like it is slowly oozing from the walls
because of the way the limestone has dissolved around it leaving it protruding
out at odd angles. Though not so aesthetically pleasing as calcite formations,
it is nevertheless very interesting and irreplaceable. Visitors to the cave
should be very careful to preserve them in their original form. Several samples
of the "nutty putty" have been analyzed, and it appears to be
composed of minute rounded particles of Silicon Dioxide, roughly three microns
in diameter, and some minor impurities.
The "nutty
putty" immediately presents two problems; what its physical properties are
that cause it to have its peculiar characteristics, and where it came from and
how it got there. As the origin of chert in general
is not thoroughly understood, the solutions of these problems may well have to
await some very extensive research. But it is interesting to note some at least
superficial resemblances of the "nutty putty" to the "quick clay" which causes
so much damage in
Some of the
chief differences between the "nutty putty" and the "quick clay" are in the
slightly greater particle size of the "nutty putty" and the more spherical
shape. The nutty putty originally breaks in preferred directions, indicating an
ordered arrangement of particles, while "quick clay" has flat particles
randomly arranged like an unstable card stack. And of course the "nutty putty"
is much older and has a far greater history including, no doubt alteration by
the hydrothermal activity mentioned earlier.
The presence
of fossil negatives and lack of positives indicates very little or no
replacement by calcium from ground water. It would be of interest to see if
dried "nutty putty" redissolved in water
containing a high proportion of some electrolytic salt would be as
"nutty". There is some slowly dripping water in a few places in the
cave, and the walls are usually damp throughout. Another interesting property
of the cave is that it is a very strong blowing cave like others in the
vicinity, but it does not appear to have a lower entrance. A connection with a
nearby mine seems remote,
Biologically
speaking, Nutty Putty contains the usual fungi growing in rat droppings, but no
other plant life was observed. There is a family of mice in a small nest near
the entrance which are usually unafraid of people. Cave crickets are often
observed near the entrance, and on one occasion a number of very small ones
were seen about 20 ft from the entrance. On another occasion a large number of
crickets were found grouped together just inside the entrance, upon emerging
from the cave we found that it had been raining outside. According to Moore and
Nicholas (p. 75) they leave the cave to feed only when the humidity outside is
exceptionally high, and it seems likely that the crickets we saw were just
returning. We have no idea how the crickets knew what the humidity was outside;
nothing gave us any clues. Each trip usually means crawling over some
"stinkbugs" in the entrance, they seem to prefer the
warm humid air that blows from the cave. No biological identifications have
been made; the crickets seem to be somewhat smaller than those described by
Moore and Nicholas, and could prove to be very interesting.
Also as of
yet unidentified are the bones of a large mammal found at the bottom of the
entrance sink. Unless they are to be identified, they should not be disturbed.
There is also the articulated skeleton of a rabbit in a small crawl southeast
of the entrance, and some more small mammal bones in
the northern section of the cave.
No section of
the cave gave any evidence of occupation by primitive peoples, in fact the cave
shows remarkably little evidence for use by modern man. Very little vandalism
is in evidence, but the general structure of the cave does not lend itself to
show disturbance because of its broken nature, and there are no extensive
limestone formations that might encourage it.
The entrance
of the cave is a small sink which leads to a short muddy crawl. After this the
going is easier, the numerous drops indicated near the entrance are small and
easily climbed, the biggest being at the bottom of the "Big Slide". Its 15 ft can
be chimneyed without undue difficulty, but a short handline is a great advantage when coming back up over the
edge. The wall holds a piton fairly well in this area.
The southern
part of the cave ends in a solution complex of tight squeezeways
which eventually pinch off. Some of these are real challenges, but the small
formations and the red clay fins inside "Bob's rush" are of interest to the
very skinny. Also on the ceiling of the crawl are three or four very tiny
gypsum flowers.
North from
the entrance, Karl's crawl and some other very small connections are
recommended only for masochists. They are only of interest to show spatial and
hydrological relationships, and to show what has been pushed and where it went.
One of the fossils here forms an extensive lacy pattern and is very unusual. The
"Greated Slanted Slot" is not the big room it appears
to be on the map; it is actually a very narrow slot set at about a 1.50 angle.
Farther along are some "blisters" formed by the limestone dissolving away in
back of a filled joint, and some chert nodules
covered with some buff colored material. Just inside the last room are three
slabs of limestone with dabs of calcite randomly arranged like paint on an
artist's palette. When first seen aye was precariously
balanced on another rock, but it was inadvertently disturbed and fell. Coral is
present in a few pits along the way, and in a few places it overlies some tiny
greenish blue crystals.
The general
possibilities for rushing this cave seem almost unlimited, but it will take
time and energy. Some of the best possibilities lie around the "Big Room" where
several cracks appear to open up onto unexplored areas, but this kind of caving
will be mostly excavation.
The surface
topography suggests drainage to the southeast in the southern end of the cave,
and to the northeast in the northern end, as the entrance sits just to the
west of a saddle that runs east and west. The strata in the cave and on the
surface strikes about N14 degrees W, the same direction as the cross hatching on the
map, and dips about 57 degrees East. Another new possibility is a new sink forming
approximately 700 ft S15 degrees E of the entrance of nutty putty with a small amount of
air blowing from it. Almost in line with it is another smaller sink
approximately 500 ft from the Nutty Putty entrance. This may mean more cave paralleling the northern section, but with no known
entrance in Nutty Putty itself. It would have the same sort of drainage as the
southern part of Nutty Putty. There remains also the very remote possibility
that there is a relationship between Nutty Putty and Rassle
Knoll Pit.
A little back
breaking excavation may very possibly open up significant additions to the
known cave in this area.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Green, Dale J. "Basic Speleology
of the Aliens Ranch and
Kerr, Paul F. "Quick Clay", Scientific American, Vol. 209, #5,
November 1963, p. 132-14O.
MF 45 "Preliminary Geologic Map of the Aliens
Ranch quadrangle,
Proctor, Paul D. "Fringe Zone Alteration in
Carbonate Rocks, North Tintic District
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