GC1A03Z Ha Ha Tonka Earth Cache (Earthcache) in Missouri, United States created by Fried Okra

GC1A03Z ▼

A cache by Fried Okra Message this owner

Hidden : 3/7/2008

Difficulty:

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Size: Size: other (other)

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Congratulations to LEGO GUY CREW for the FTF!

Missouri's Karst Showcase
From dark caves to back-country hiking trails to castle ruins perched on a cliff, Ha Ha Tonka State Park is the ideal place for the adventurous.

Ha Ha Tonka is a geological wonderland: sinkholes, caves, a huge natural bridge, soaring bluffs, and Missouri's twelfth largest spring. Bring your camera because Ha Ha Tonka State Park is a showcase.

PARK LOCATION
Ha Ha Tonka State Park is located southwest of Camdenton, Mo. on State Hwy D. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful State Park in our back yard. The Park is very well maintained and the staff is always friendly and helpful.

CACHE DETAILS
This Cache is NOT an easy park and grab. You might be able to complete this cache in an hour or less if you really hustle. I suggest that you slow down and enjoy your time at Ha Ha Tonka.

There are several ways to get from location to location. You can park and hike an entire loop to all locations (highly suggested) except the river cave or you can drive between the parking lots to save time.

Several tasks are required to log this Cache.

AREA HISTORY
First Native Americans and then early explorers were drawn to the Niangua country and the remarkable beauty of the area around what today is Ha Ha Tonka State Park. The Boones were there, both Daniel and son Nathan, fur trapping in the first years of the 19th century. Zebulon Pike passed nearby on his way to explore the West. Settlers and visitors alike were awed by what they encountered.

Robert M. Snyder, a wealthy Kansas City businessman, first visited the site in 1903 and was so impressed that he eventually purchased more than 5,000 acres. He envisioned a private retreat with a European-style castle, with a center atrium rising three and one-half stories to a skylight. Snyder also planned an 80-foot-high water tower, greenhouses and a carriage house. Construction began in 1905 only to be halted a year later with the untimely death of Snyder in one of the state's first automobile accidents. Snyder's sons finished building their father's dream, though not quite as elaborately as originally planned. Eventually, the property was leased for use as a hotel, until tragedy struck in 1942. The entire interior was gutted by fire when sparks from a chimney ignited the roof. The carriage house burned the same day and in 1976, the water tower was burned by vandals. Today only ruins remain.

In 1909, Missouri Gov. Herbert S. Hadley proposed the area as Missouri's first state park, but it was not to be until 1978. It is Missouri's premiere showcase of karst geology.

KARST TOPOGRAPHY
Karst topography is a three-dimensional landscape shaped by the dissolution of soluble layers of bedrock, usually limestone, dolomite or marble. These landscapes are the result of a geological process occurring over many thousands of years and contain distinctive surface and subsurface features such as sinkholes, vertical shafts, disappearing streams, springs, complex underground drainage systems and caves. Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas are both known for the thousands of caves related to their karst topography.

Karst formation begins with what is referred to as the carbon dioxide cascade. Rain falls and picks up C02, which dissolves in the droplets. The rain then percolates through the soil and picks up more C02 to form a weak carbonic acid solution. The infiltrating water naturally exploits cracks and crevices in the rock. Over long periods, the bedrock begins to dissolve from the continuous supply of C02 enriched water. Openings in the bedrock increase in size and allow more water to pass, creating an underground drainage system and the formation of karst. Eventually, this leads to the development of subsurface caves. Source

GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
Ha Ha Tonka State Park is unique in the quality and number of its remarkable geological features.

NATURAL BRIDGES
A natural bridge can form from water running through a limestone cave, where paired sinkholes collapse and a ridge of stone is left standing between them, with the cave passageway connecting from sinkhole to sinkhole.

The best example of this at Ha Ha Tonka is the large natural bridge close to the castle, which spans ? feet across, ? feet wide and 100 feet high from the sinkhole floor. There was once a road over the top of the bridge, but it has since grown over and there’s not much left to see. There’s the natural bridge inside River Cave and the Devil’s Kitchen Sinkhole features another small natural bridge along its trail.

CAVES
Caves Most of the caves at Ha Ha Tonka are no longer publicly accessible, but permission to access two of them can be granted through the park administration or by participating in tours. These are the Island Cave near the springs and River Cave opposite the castle drive entrance. River Cave can be found at the bottom of a flight of steps inside one of the parks’ sinkholes. Only the first 700 feet of this cave are accessible by humans, but the passage contains a small natural bridge and a large stalagmite column that are worth the visit. There’s a thin stream that runs through the cave and supposedly feeds into the larger Ha Ha Tonka spring deeper into the cave. The mouths of Robbers’ Cave and Counterfeiters’ Cave are visible from the hiking trail over Whispering Dell Sinkhole after the leaves drop; these both acquired their names due to their use as criminal hideouts in the 1830’s. Neither of these are open to public visitation, however.

SINKHOLES
Sinkholes can form when there is a collapse in a cave roof, resulting in a depression in the surface topography. They can range from gentle, earth-lined depressions to deep, rocky chasms and are usually linked with karst landscape. There is often a small area of rock exposure near or at the bottom of the sinkhole and sometimes the opening into the cave below will be visible. The cave system at Ha Ha Tonka created many sinkholes; two of the most notable are “The Colosseum,” measuring 500 ft by 300 ft and the Whispering Dell basin which is 150 ft deep with two bluff shelters, the Counterfeiters’ and Robbers’ Caves.Source

THE SPRING
The Ha Ha Tonka Spring is one of the two main tourist attractions to the park. 250 foot high bluffs surround the gorge through which the springs flow from a cave under the cliffs and into the Lake of the Ozarks.

The spring water flows from the network of caves underground and remains a constant 54-60 degrees Fahrenheit year-round.

The clear, blue color comes from the dissolved minerals remaining in the water as it travels through the subsurface dolomite passages. Depending on the depth of the water, the shade ranges from aqua to indigo. Source

Ha Ha Tonka Spring, Missouri's twelfth largest discharges approximately 48 million gallons of water daily.

Spending a couple of hours at Ha Ha Tonka is an education in itself but a couple of additional facts and a fun activity are included in this cache.

FUN FACTS

The word “karst” comes from the German for the limestone region of Krs, Slovenia. Source
Missouri has over 6,000 registered and mapped wild caves.
The average person takes in about 16,000 gallons of water in his or her lifetime. Think about how many lifetimes you would have to live to drink the water that exits the Ha Ha Tonka Spring in Just one day!
Water is the only substance found naturally in three forms: solid, liquid and gas.

ACTIVITIES

Activity (option A): What is the span? Measure the span (side to side) and depth (front to back) of the NATURAL BRIDGE by whatever means best suits your abilities. Possible methods include: your GPSr, measuring tape, pacing, triangulation, etc.
Activity (option B): What is the elevation difference? Measure the elevation at the top of the SPRING STEPS and the bottom of the SPRING STEPS with your GPSr and calculate the difference in elevation in feet.

IN ORDER TO LOG THIS CACHE you MUST post a picture of yourself and / or your GPSr in front of ALL FOUR geographical formations.

The Natural Bridge
The opening or Chimney of Devil’s Kitchen
The Devil’s Promenade
The Spring

You must ALSO send me an email with the answer to one of the tasks included in the activity options listed above.

Please add the name of your town or city in your log.

You can assume that your answers are correct unless you hear from me.

Thanks!

LINKS
Ha Ha Tonka Home page
The Geological Society of America
Local Lake of the Ozarks History
Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites
Missouri Department of Conservation
Lake of the Ozarks information
Rolla Net Aricle

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Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Trg n cnex znc

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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Ha Ha Tonka Earth Cache EarthCache

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