Ensor Sink EarthCache EarthCache

Ensor Sink Natural Area is located in Cookeville near Exit 287 of I-40. The park provides educational informations on caves, karsts, sinkholes, basins, and watersheds of the area and in general and the relation between one another.

Logging Requirements - Updated June 5, 2007

To receive credit for a find, please visit the spot at the listed coordinates. This spot is located just above the fenceline on the southeast side, close to the deepest, visible part of the Ensor Sink.

Take another waypoint at the opposite fenceline on the northwest side across the deepest part of the sink and measure the distance from the original waypoint of the earthcache to this new waypoint on the opposite side.

Email me or send me a message via my profile with the following information:

• The waypoint coordinates you observed from a spot on northwest fenceline just above the deepest part of the sink
• The measured distance from the original waypoint to the observed waypoint

You can measure the distance in the field or you can take the waypoint and use tools such as online Coordinate Distance Calculator or GeoCalc to find distances between corrdinates later.

Reasonable answers must received within 7 days of the find or else the log will be removed.

Enjoy!

Ensor Sink Natural Area was established to preserve the natural beauty of the land surrounding Ensor Sink, to provide recreational opportunities for the community and to educate people about the role of sinkholes and caves in the stormwater drainage for the city of Cookeville.

Sinkholes are common in Tennessee where the rock below much of the surface of the land is limestone. As rainwater seeps down into the earth's surface and comes into contact with limestone, chemical reactions cause the limestone to slowly dissolve. As water continues to flow through holes that were created as the limestone dissolved, the holes become larger. Some small holes eventually become caves.

"Karst" refers to a geographic area with soluble rock, like limestone, underneath it. Karst is characterized by sinkholes, caves and an underground drainage system. Cookeville is built on karst, and there are two, known, major cave systems beneath the City of Cookeville. Ensor Sink is part of one of those systems, and the other includes several caves in the Capshaw Cave system.

Sinkholes, also called "sinks" are the characteristic landform of karst. Most sinks, known as "solution sinkholes," form as the limestone dissolves, creating sunken areas in the land surface. Other sinks, known as "collapse sinkholes," form when caves collapse and suddenly drop a portion of the land surface above. The outer edges of sinkholes are normally round or oval, and their bottoms are either bowl or funnel shaped. When water drains into a sinkhole, it works like a funnel to feed the water into caves and underground streams below. Litter and pollutants that are in the water are also carried underground.

DANGER: Beware of flooding! Ensor Sink and other sinkholes can be dangerous when it rains. Flooding has been forceful enough to take large, heavy trash items like grocery carts, office chairs, bedsprings, bicycle frames and tires deep into the underground cave system. That is why the channel and sinkhole are enclosed by a fence. When flooding occurs, the strong, flowing water can rise even higher than the fence. So, stay safe. DO NOT ENTER FENCED-IN AREA AT ANY TIME. DO NOT STAY IN ENSOR SINK NATURAL AREA DURING HEAVY RAINS.

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This earthcache is approved by the National Speleological Society.