On the cliff walls of the Ohio River is this little known
cave/spring. It's refered to as Daniel Boone Cave by cave explorers
and locals. It is of limits to caving or exploring. the entrance is
high up on the side of a cliff and is only accessable by private
property. Viewing the Cave can be done from the Ohio River. It can
be reached by boat along the Ohio River. There is a railroad and
railroad bridge that goes to the falls, this area is off limits!
It's private property of the railroad and to be on the bridge or
tracks would be tresspassing.You will get muddy when going to this
earth cache so be prepared. The view is worth the hike.
A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to
enter. Some people suggest that the term 'cave' should only apply
to cavities that have some part which does not receive daylight;
however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like
sea caves, rock shelters and grottos.
Millions of years ago the beautiful bluegrass landscape of Kentucky
was covered by a shallow sea. Deposits of tiny marine animals and
plants on the sea floor formed thick layers of limestone. When
exposed to weather, these layers of limestone became the world's
best "cave forming" rock. Rainwater, mixed with carbon dioxide in
the air and soil, formed a mild acid which slowly worked its way
into cracks in the limestone and began to dissolve passages.
Karst is a term which describes cave country. Karst areas are
places where dissolved openings in the underlying bedrock allow a
substantial amount of groundwater to move for long distances with
relatively little filtration. Karst features include, caves,
sinkholes, springs, and underground rivers. In karst areas, water
enters the ground through natural "sinks". If you are driving
through Otter Creep Park watch for bowl shaped depressions in the
park that look like meteor craters. The presence of these
"sinkholes" tell you that you are in cave country.
Once water sinks underground it flows through natural caverns and
eventually comes back to the surface through springs.
Daniel Boone Cave is also a active spring. A spring is a point
where groundwater flows out of the ground, and is thus where the
aquifer surface meets the ground surface.
Dependent upon the constancy of the water source (rainfall or
snowmelt that infiltrates the earth), a spring may be ephemeral
(intermittent) or perennial (continuous). Daniel Boone Cave Springs
is perennial.
To get credit for this Earth Cache, post a picture of yourself
(face included) with the cave/springs in the background and answer
the following questions.
1. How high is the cave opening with the water coming out of it?
2. Is this cave/spring ephemeral or perrenial?
Logs with no photo of the actual EarthCacher/Geocacher (face
must be included) logging the find or failure to answer questions
will result in a log deletion. Exceptions will be considered if you
contact me first (I realize sometimes we forget our cameras or the
batteries die). Logs with no photos will be deleted without notice.
I have used sources available to me by using google search to get
information for this earth cache. I am by no means a geologist. I
use books, internet, and asking questions about geology just like
99.9 percent of the geocachers who create these great Earth Caches.
I enjoy Earth Caches and want people to get out and see what I see
everytime I go and explore this great place we live in.