Bristol Caverns Earthcache EarthCache
Bristol Caverns Earthcache
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Beautiful and majestic Bristol Caverns! Far below the earth's surface, in the timeless beauty of Bristol Caverns, a strange and exciting experience awaits you. Paved, well lighted walkways wind through the vaulted chambers and along the banks of the ancient Underground River that carved these remarkable caverns from the hard core of the earth 200 to 400 million years ago. In the frontier days, Indians used the Underground River as _______. Stealing into the area by way of the Underground River and the caverns, they swooped down on unsuspecting families, then disappeared as if swallowed up by the earth. You will be retracing the same warrior paths while exploring the vast rooms and arches, columns, and natural stone formations of varying size and kinds.
These formations, millions of years old, display rich veins of minerals which give the formations beautiful colors of red, blue, gray, brown and sparkling white. Stalactites and stalagmites, some larger than tree trunks and others smaller than straws, fascinate and give play to the imagination. Where some of these formation have grown together, massive columns have been formed reaching from the floor to the ceiling of the lofty rooms. With every view, nature's artistry is at its best and can be seen in the remarkable tumbling cascades and billowing draperies - all of solid stone.
To log this cache you must:
1. Take a picture of you and your group at the posted coordinates. List how many are in your group also. Post this picture in your log on the cache page.
2. Answer the following questions and email them to the cache owner, boperry(at)charter(dot)net:
1. What is the name of the largest cave formation inside the caverns?
2. How did the Indians use the cave?
3. What year was the commercial entrance found? And by who?
This is a commercial cave. Please visit during operating hours: Open Year Round
Hours
Mon-Sat Sunday
March 15-Oct 31 9 am - 5 pm 10 am - 4 pm
Nov 1 - Mar 14 12:30 pm - 5 pm 12:30pm - 4:30 pm
Open daily year round EXCEPT Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day or By Appointment Call (423) 878-2011
CAVE CHEMISTRY
While it is true that some caves can be formed by the action of waves (sea caves) or even lava (lava tubes), we will deal with those caves formed by water dissolving rock, or solution caves. The term dissolution refers to the chemical weathering or “dissolving” of limestone or other soluble rocks by water. Water, by itself and with enough time, could eventually carve out a small opening in rock. For a large cave system to form, however, water needs some additional help, which it gets from acids within the water. We will discuss two types of acids, carbonic and sulfuric, which are common in some types of groundwater. We will then discuss how these acids form caves.
CARBONIC ACID, SULFURIC ACID & CAVES
As rain falls through the atmosphere, and especially as it moves through the soil, the water mixes with carbon dioxide gas to create a weak solution of carbonic acid. This acid is many times more efficient than water at dissolving rock. An even more powerful acid to dissolve rock is sulfuric acid. This acid can be formed either by water coming into contact with rocks containing sulfide minerals, or by bacteria within the groundwater which break down rock as a normal process of their life cycle. But even a weak solution of carbonic acid, or the much stronger sulfuric acid, will not make a cave unless it can get underground. One way water moves deeper into the earth is through cracks or fractures which geologists call joints or faults. These fractures allow water to move further into the rock. The fractures widened over time as the acid dissolved away the soluble rock. What once were small cracks eventually widened into larger voids or cavities. Some of these cavities widened into larger rooms or caves. And some of the caves eventually connected with other caves to form caverns.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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