GC14T45 Stinging Fork Falls Earthcache (Earthcache) in Tennessee, United States created by Better Half

GC14T45 ▼

A cache by Better Half Message this owner

Hidden : 7/31/2007

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Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Stinging Fork Falls is located is Stinging Fork Natural area in Rhea County Tennessee.

~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.

Types of Waterfalls...
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.

Earthcache Requirements:

Picture requirement:
My intentions are to have you post your picture with the falls in the background. If you refuse to post your face in the picture, then each log must have a unique picture for each log. Tilting the picture with a photo program will not be acceptable for unique. Group photos must reference who's picture you are in otherwise. A unique picture must be included with every log if you are not in the picture. .

Email me the answers.. to the following questions...
1)Approximately how high are the falls?
2) Approximately how wide are the Falls?
3)How many seperate plunge pools are there?
4)What is the unique feature towards the bottom of the falls?
5)Give me your best guess in your own words as to how these waterfalls were formed.
6.)Don't forget to upload your picture.

Any Logs without the required picture posted with your log or without the emailed answers will be deleted without notification or warning. Please do not post answers to your online log.

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Additional Hints (No hints available.)

Stinging Fork Falls Earthcache EarthCache

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Geocache Description:

~Waterfalls~

Any Logs without the required picture posted with your log or without the emailed answers will be deleted without notification or warning. Please do not post answers to your online log.

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