Columbus on the Fall Line EarthCache
Columbus on the Fall Line
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This is an Earthcache. There is no container to find or log to sign. Every Earthcache includes an earth sciences lesson. Please visit the posted coordinates and then send an email with the answers to the questions.
This earthcache is located along the Chattahoochee Riverwalk in downtown Columbus, Georgia. The area is handicapped accessible via a nearby ramp.
Fall Lines
In geomorphology, a fall line marks the area where an upland region (continental bedrock) and a coastal plain (coastal alluvia) meet. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls. Because of these features river boats typically cannot travel any farther inland without portaging unless locks are built. Because of the need for a port and a ready supply of water power, settlements often develop where rivers cross a fall line.
The fall line in the United States
Along the eastern coast of the United States, the east-facing escarpment where the Piedmont of the Appalachians descends steeply to the coastal plain forms a fall line over 1500 kilometers long. This long fall line played a major role in settlement patterns along rivers, back into prehistoric times. It is often referred to simply as "the fall line". In some places the fall line may be abrupt, while in others it is a zone that may be many miles wide. Geologically the fall line marks the boundary of hard metamorphosed terrain—the product of the Taconic orogeny—and the sandy, relatively flat outwash plain of the upper continental shelf, formed of unconsolidated Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments. In the 19th Century, the fall line often represented the head of navigation on most major rivers. However, since the advent of flumes for water supply and canals for shipping in the early 20th Century, the most prominent feature of fall line settlement was the establishment of the cities along it. As the cities were linked by the early highways, U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95 came to pass through many of these cities, roughly tracing the fall line.
The fall line in Georgia
The fall line is a geological boundary about twenty miles wide that runs across Georgia northeastward from Columbus to Augusta. As the Mesozoic shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean, it separates Piedmont crystalline rocks to the north from Upper Coastal Plain sedimentary rocks to the south. The fall line is notable not only for the geological relationship but also for the impact that the geology had on early transportation and consequently on commerce and society.
The falls that give rise to the term fall line are the shoals or waterfalls caused by the first exposure of crystalline rocks encountered when traveling upstream in rivers of the Coastal Plain. These falls represent a barrier to navigation.
Rivers of the Coastal Plain were a major means of commercial transportation during the 1700s and early 1800s. The cities of Columbus, Macon, Milledgeville, and Augusta were located at the fall lines of the Chattahoochee, Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Savannah rivers, respectively. They became early centers of commerce because of their positions at the upstream limit of navigation. The falls also supplied waterpower for the development of industry such as textile and grist mills.
The differences in geology to the north and south of the fall line give rise to differences in soil types, hydrology, and stream morphology. Sandy soils predominate to the south of the fall line, whereas clay soils are the rule to the north. Wide floodplains have developed along many of the streams south of the fall line. Narrower stream valleys are present north of the fall line. A consequence of these differences is that the fall line separates significantly different plant and animal communities.
Cities along the Piedmont – Coastal Plain fall line in Georgia from north to south:
Augusta on the Savannah River
Milledgeville on the Oconee River
Macon on the Ocmulgee River
Columbus on the Chattahoochee River
Required: To get credit for this Earthcache e-mail me with answers to the following questions:
1. In basic terms and in your own words, what is the “Fall Line”?
2. In your own words, what are two reasons that cities would develop along the fall line and become centers of commerce?
3. What large body of water is the final destination of water that flows over this point of the fall line?
4. Looking upstream from the posted coordinates how many dams can you count?
5. To the east of the posted coordinates is a bronze dedication plaque. Who served as landscape architect(s) on the riverwalk project?
Any log with answers, spoilers, or spoiler pictures is subject to being deleted.
Optional: Post a photo of you and your group at the posted coordinates but please avoid spoiler pictures.
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