Raven Rock-A Sentinel to Change
Raven Rock, overlooking the Ohio River and the floodplains in
southern Ohio and on the other side, northern Kentucky provides one
of the most spectacular views imaginable. However, a few million
years ago it would have been much different. About 340-350 million
years ago during the Mississippian Period, Raven Rock was just a
part of a large, shallow sea. The rock itself was deposited as silt
and sand that settled to the bottom, and eventually turned to stone
as pressure from the above layers compacted it together forming the
sedimentary rock we see today.
Over the following millions of years as the earth changed, the
shallow sea disappeared as the land experienced an uplifting. The
sea was simply drained away, leaving exposed land. Erosion caused
by wind and water slowly carved valleys. The hills, where harder
rock layers on top protected the underlying strata eroded much more
slowly. This process left an irregular landscape of steep hills
with streams or gullies between them.
Two million years ago, before the Pleistocene Ice Age, a now
extinct body of flowing water referred to today as the Teays River,
drained the watershed and flowed from what is now North Carolina
northward through Kentucky to west central Ohio, into Indiana and
Illinois, and eventually joining the ancient Mississippi River.
As time progressed, Raven Rock has witnessed the evolution of
this area from a sea floor to a craggy rock outcrop. This point was
undoubtedly used by Native Americans thousands of years before
European settlers viewed the floodplain below, or the “Dark and
Bloody Ground” of Kentucky to the south to watch for animal
migrations or hostile tribes.
In the late 20th Century Charles Asa Brown, the owner of Raven
Rock felt that this place was very special and would allow visitors
into the area, but only after telling them a little of the history
and trying to instill in them the ecological importance of the land
they were about to see. In 1994 he donated Raven Rock and the
surrounding 95 acres as a State Nature Preserve in an attempt to
keep the area as natural as possible. Today it is managed by the
Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. His request that the
visitors obtain permission to enter the area is still honored
today.
To visit this Earthcache, written permission must be obtained in
advance from the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. All
applications for access to this site must be submitted at least two
weeks prior to the date you wish to visit. The view and the ability
to visualize the changes of the area are certainly worth the wait.
To request an access permit application form, please visit
www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap
To get credit for the Earthcache email the answers to the
following questions AND THE PERMIT NUMBER to us along with a
picture of you and your GPSr and the information sign at the top of
Raven Rock somewhere in the picture. Emails with no permit number
or picture as described will result in your log being deleted. We
realize things may happen to cameras such as batteries going dead
or the camera falling off of a cliff, things like that sometimes
happen. If no picture is possible, let us know and we will work
something out. However we will make no exceptions on the valid
permit number.
Questions:
1. What is the elevation change between the parking coordinates
and the coordinates given for Raven Rock?
2. What type of rock is Raven Rock composed of, metamorphic,
sedimentary, or igneous?
3. What is the culture of the person depicted on the information
sign atop Raven Rock?
Don’t forget to send your permit number with the answers.
Special thanks to Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the
Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and Mr. Martin McAllister,
for reviewing and approving this EarthCache. All proposed caches
must be reviewed and approved by the site manager. Traditional
geocaches are not permitted at state nature preserves; however,
virtual caches such as EarthCaches are permitted so long as
visitors obey all preserve rules, which include remaining on the
designated trail system at all times.
For more information on Ohio’s state nature preserves visit:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Default.aspx?alias=www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap
This EarthCache was created by a team of two Platinum EarthCache
Masters, Ammosuperman EarthCaches are a collaborative effort. We
have used resources such as the Internet and magazine articles as
well as personal experience in visiting the sites, as research
tools in its construction. Our goal is to learn more about our
planet and to pass along what we have learned to others having
similar interests. We hope you enjoy the experience.
Information for this Earthcache was taken from personal
experience, information from the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and
Preserves, the Internet, and Mr. McAllister.
