Foster Falls EarthCache
Geocaching HQ Admin: It has now been over 30 days since Geocaching HQ submitted the disabled log below and, unfortunately, the cache owner has not posted an Owner maintenance log and re-enabled this geocache. As a result, we are now archiving this cache page.
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Foster Falls is a nature area on the South Cumberland State Park on
the edge of the Cumberland Plateau. The South Cumberland State Park
office is located in Monteagle Tennessee. Enjoy Tennessee's Beauty
at its Finest!
Waterfalls A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting
from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an
erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in
elevation or nickpoint. Some waterfalls form in mountain
environments where the erosive water force is high and stream
courses may be subject to sudden and catastrophic change. In such
cases, the waterfall may not be the end product of many years of
water action over a region, but rather the result of relatively
sudden geological processes such as landslides, faults or volcanic
action. Typically, a river flows over a large step in the rocks
which may have been formed by a fault line. Over a period of years,
the edges of this shelf will gradually break away and the waterfall
will steadily retreat upstream, creating a gorge of recession.
Often, the rock stratum just below the more resistant shelf will be
of a softer type, meaning undercutting, due to splashback, will
occur here to form a shallow cave-like formation known as a rock
shelter or plunge pool under and behind the waterfall. Eventually,
the outcropping, more resistant cap rock will collapse under
pressure to add blocks of rock to the base of the waterfall. These
blocks of rock are then broken down into smaller boulders by
attrition as they collide with each other, and they also erode the
base of the waterfall by abrasion, creating a deep plunge pool.
Streams become wider and more shallow just above waterfalls due to
flowing over the rock shelf, and there is usually a deep pool just
below the waterfall because of the kinetic energy of the water
hitting the bottom. Waterfalls can occur along the edge of glacial
trough, whereby a stream or river flowing into a glacier continues
to flow into a valley after the glacier has receded or melted. The
large waterfalls in Yosemite Valley are examples of this
phenomenon. The rivers are flowing from hanging valleys. Block:
Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river. Cascade:
Water descends a series of rock steps. Cataract: A large waterfall.
Fan: Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in
contact with bedrock. Horsetail: Descending water maintains some
contact with bedrock. Plunge: Water descends vertically, losing
contact with the bedrock surface. Punchbowl: Water descends in a
constricted form, then spreads out in a wider pool. Segmented:
Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends. Tiered:
Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls. Multi-Step: A
series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size
each with its own sunken plunge pool.
NOTE: If you do NOT include a
photo of you (owner of the GC account) when you log this cache,
your log will be DELETED! A photo along with your log is a
REQUIREMENT. No exceptions. If you choose to make it know you have
found the cache, add your log as a note until you can add a photo.
I'm sorry we have to be this way, but I cannot give the two or
three week allowances like some do.
Q1 - Approximately how high are the falls? Q2 - What kind of rock
lines the pool where the water fall plunges? Q3 - Approximately how
wide is the basin? Q4 - Name one other geological feature you can
see in the area. P1 - Picture at the overlook P2 - Picture at the
pool
Additional Hints
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