ORVEC: Islands at The Falls EarthCache
ORVEC: Islands at The Falls
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Islands at The Falls
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Falls of The Ohio Islands (South is UP)
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Falls Of The Ohio Islands
NOTE! This cache is best accessed by BOAT. It can be accessed on foot if the lower pool water elevation allows crossing the upper dam spillway, usually August - October! See below.
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The Ohio River
The Ohio River is young from a geological standpoint. The river formed on a piecemeal basis beginning around 2.5 million years ago. The earliest Ice Ages occurred at this time and dammed portions of north flowing rivers. The Teays River was the largest of these rivers, and the modern Ohio River flows within segments of the ancient Teays. The ancient rivers were rearranged or consumed by glaciers and lakes.
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How Were Ohio River Islands Formed?
When the glacial sheets melted, the raw, gouged, exposed land was strewn with deep layers of glacial mud, sand, gravel and boulders. Geologists call this mixture till. The unsorted till was attacked by the elements, and the debris left by the ice was carried away by streams flowing into the new Ohio River valley.
The load of sediments was enormous, and much was deposited in the valleys and on the bed of the river. In some places, the sands and gravels deepened until, finally, they were piled above the non-flood surface of the river, thus forming the islands.
Shippingport Island is man-made. Goose Island is partly an exposed 450-million year old fossilized reef and seabed.
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Corn Island (bottom/center)
Corn Island is a now-vanished 7-acre island just above the Falls of the Ohio. The island was flooded after the construction of Dam 41 (eventally McAlpine) in the 1920s. It now lies permanently underwater.
In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the island was settled by George Rogers Clark's militia and 60 civilian settlers, who remained behind when Clark's party departed. Clark established the farming colony on the island as a communication post to support his military campaign.
The island was renamed Corn Island by Clark, presumably reflecting the early importance of farming. The settlers remained after Clark's campaign ended but moved to the mainland the following year, establishing Louisville. Louisville traces its foundation in 1778 to the settlement on Corn Island. The island continued to be used for farming and hunting until it was submerged.
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Shippingport Island
In 1825 the building of the Louisville and Portland Canal created Shippingport Island. Over the years the Louisville and Portland Canal was gradually widened to keep up with the steamboats and barges that carried products from one end of the country to another. A hydroelectric plant was also built on the island as time changed. Slowly residents and businesses began to close and leave.
The area was devastated by the flood of 1937 when most of Louisville was under water. It forced the island to evacuate until the river returned to it’s banks. Many people never returned because their homes were completely destroyed.
In 1958 the government acquired the property by eminent domain to widen the canal again. They evicted any remaining families, many that had lived there for over a 100 years.
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Sand Island
Sand Island, noted on some early maps of the Ohio as Sandy Island is located just below Shippingport Island. The island is within the boundary of the Falls of The Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area and is under the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers. No facilities exist on the island which is comprised mainly of sand and is forested by willow, cottonwood and water maple.
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Goose Island
Goose Island is located at the Falls of the Ohio, which was the only navigational barrier on the river in earlier times. The falls were a series of rapids formed by the relatively recent erosion of the Ohio River operating on 386 million-year-old Devonian hard limestone rock shelves.
The navigational obstacles that the island and falls presented meant that early river traffic would stop at the Louisville or Portland wharf and offload valuable cargo and passengers which would be transported by wagon around the obstacles.
Riverboat captains then maneuvered their lighter boats around the obstacles and reloaded passengers and goods at the Louisville or Portland wharfs to continue their journey.
In the early 1800's dikes were constructed of limestone block along the north (Indiana) and south (Kentucky) shorlines to help direct current and ease navigation. The Goose Island Dike was later capped with concrete and is still visible today during periods of low water.
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The area is generally available August - October due to dry weather and low water.
IF YOU HIKE - BEFORE YOU GO:
Call this number: (502) 775-5056 and listen to the one-minute recording.
The recording will give you important information on the river level above and below McAlpine dam. You will also hear how much water is running through the upper and lower gates of the dam (one-mile apart).
If there is ANY water running through the upper dam, the HIKE IS NOT POSSIBLE - YOU CANNOT CROSS.
When the upper gauge is at pool, the level will be 12.6 feet. The lower level (below the spillway MUST be 12.0 feet or LESS!
If the lower gauge is above 20 feet, the reef will be submerged.
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To Log This Earthcache
The listed coordinate will bring you to the top of the Goose Island Dike.
Take a picture of yourself (optional) and your GPSr (for sure) at the listed coordinate, atop the dike, with the Louisville skyline and dike in the background.
And to demonstrate the educational value of this earthcache experience, please answer the following questions:
1. What created the Falls of The Ohio and the surrounding islands?
2. How old are the Devonian fossil beds?
3. How tall is the dike?
4. What are the approximate dimensions of the limestone blocks used in the dike construction?
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Please email your answers first, then LOG THE FIND. Do not wait on a reply from me. FINDs which do not meet logging requirements will be deleted.
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Nafjref gb #1 naq #2 ner va gur grkg. Nafjref gb #3 naq #4, cyhf gur erdhverq cvp, ner ng gur yvfgrq pbbeqf.
Treasures
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