Coal at Black Hawk State Historic Site EarthCache
Coal at Black Hawk State Historic Site
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Black Hawk State Historic Site is a wooded, steeply rolling 208-acre tract that borders the Rock River in Rock Island County. You will follow well-defined trails with some stairways and hills. You should be able to complete this cache in about 3/4 hour.
The Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island, Illinois, recently voted one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois, occupies much of the historic site of the village of Saukenuk, the home of a band of Native Americans of the Sauk nation. The state park is located on a 150-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River in western Illinois. It is most famous for being the birth place of the Sauk warrior Black Hawk. The disputed cession of this area to the U.S. Government was the catalyst for the Black Hawk War.
The Black Hawk Forest, a dedicated Nature Preserve, has been identified as one of the least-disturbed forests in Illinois. Along with shale and sandstone from the Pennsylvanian epoch (roughly 325 to 299 million years ago), prominently exposed on the south side of the park on the bluff below the Water Tower, coal from the same period is exposed on the north side of the park.
Coal is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black rock. It is a sedimentary rock, but the harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rocks because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. It is composed primarily of carbon along with assorted other elements, including sulfur. It is the largest single source of fuel for the generation of electricity world-wide, as well as one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions, which is considered the primary cause of global warming. Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, either underground mining or open pit mining (surface mining).
Parking: There is a large parking area at N 41° 27.986 W 090° 34.562, north of Black Hawk Road from 15th Street, near the picnic area.
Trailhead: From the parking area, proceed a little north and then east through the long grassy area along a dirt trail past the fire pit and between the slides to the trailhead near the Forest Preserve sign at the entry to the woods at N 41° 27.962 W 090° 34.378. This trail will take you toward the marker (#10) that marks the small trail to the mine. Stay on this main trail, down wooden steps, across the bridge, until you have about 80 yards to go and you come to a yellow arrow marking a trail that takes you to the right as the main trail curves to the left.
Stop 1 – Marker for Coal Mine: Proceed on that smaller trail across the bridge and to the left at the next yellow arrow to N 41° 27.941W 090° 34.130 where there is a Marker (#10) with a photo of the old coal mine from 1886.
Stop 2 – Top of Waste Tailings/Coal: Proceed to N 41° 27.961 W 090° 34.107 at the top of the waste tailings to the exposed coal. There are two ways to get to the top of the waste tailings:
1) The most direct way is to take the small trail a few feet to the left of the marker that takes you north toward the tailings and then a little east, across Coal Creek, and up a steep trail to the top of the tailings.
2) An alternate route is to continue east on the trail with the marker about 85 yards and cross the bridge. Just past the bridge is a small trail to the left that will take you to the trail up to the tailings, avoiding crossing the creek and the first part of the hill up to the top.
Notice the orange (from oxidized or rusty iron) and gray waste tailings. To the left a depression in the ground marks the location of the coal mine. The only visible remnant of the coal mine is the area of coal you see just beyond the waste tailings. The coal beds in the area are usually less than two feet thick. The mines at Black Hawk were probably less than 50 feet deep. The coal and tailings have high sulfur content. The tailings remain too acidic and, as a result, are vegetation free
Your first question: Estimate the height of the waste tailings that you see. _________________
Your second question: Estimate the area of coal that you see. ___________________________
Note: There is an alternate trail to the coal mine from near the Black Hawk Historic Site sign on Blackhawk Road near 17th street. To take that trail, you need to park in the picnic area parking by the river near 17th street and cross Blackhawk Road (Route 5) to the trailhead just east of the sign. Follow the trail to the west to the mine area.
Thank you for your participation in this earthcache. You may e-mail your answers to me (please do not log them online), and then log in online for completion of this cache. You may, but it is not required, upload one or more photos of your visit to the park.
References:
R. C. Anderson: “Notes on the Geology of BlackHawk State Park,” flyer obtained from the Indian Museum at the Black Hawk State Historic Site
Citizens to Preserve Black Hawk Park Foundation, Interpretive Nature Preserve Trail Guide
Wikipedia.com
Links:
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