At 215 feet high, Taughannock Falls is the highest free-falling waterfall in the northeastern United States. "Taughannock" is an Algonquin word meaning "in the trees." It is rumored to be the name of an indian warrior who staged a raid here on the Cayuga people during the Colonial period. After completing this EarthCache you will learn quite a bit about the geology this amazing area.
At the entrance of the gorge you will find the Lower Falls. The Lower Falls drop over a layer of Tully Limestone which is sandwiched between the weaker shales of the Genesee group above and the Hamilton group below. It is the faster erosion of the dark Hamilton shale below the limestone that both keeps the falls alive and constantly migrating upstream. This is just a small scale look at the process that Taughannock Falls used to make its way upstream to where it is located now. Over most of the way to the main falls, the Taughannock Creek streambed is a broad, flat surface of the Tully limestone you saw at the Lower Falls. The surface has been swept clean of the overlying shales. You will notice that the surface of the limestone is criss-crossed with countless joint fractures and covered in strange pock-marks. As you proceed farther into the gorge, the walls dramatically sweep up, until finally reaching a height of 400 feet in the amphitheater of the main falls. The carving of the amphitheater is mostly due to the action of spray and freezing in accelerating rock weathering and erosion and also shows that the falls has slowed its upstream recession since the harder beds of siltstone were intercepted.
The posted coordinates are for the parking area/trailhead. Park is open from dawn to dusk. There is a fee for parking but the pass you receive will allow you access to any New York State Park. From the parking area you will be following the trail through the gorge to the falls. It will be approximately one mile to the falls. The trail is very easy with almost no elevation change. All required information can be obtained along the trail between the Lower Falls waypoint and the Taughannock Falls lower viewing area waypoint. While it is not required to visit the Upper Falls or the Taughannock Falls Overlook it is recommended.
To claim this as a find:
1. Estimate the thickness of the Tully Limestone over which the Lower Falls drops.
2. What are the five marine invertebrates that once lived here?
3. How long ago did the surrounding rock form at the bottom of an ancient sea?
4. What has caused all of the pock marks seen in the Tully Limestone of the streambed?
5. Post a photo of yourself and your GPS with the pock-marked streambed in the background. (This requirement is now optional)
6. What caused the north-south joints fractures seen here?
7. What caused the east-west joints fractures seen here?
8. Post a photo of yourself and your GPS at the Taughannock Falls lower viewing area. (This requirement is now optional)
9. What are the three stratigraphic layers exposed in the amphitheater of the falls?
10. How long has it taken Taughannock Falls to travel the same distance you just have?
E-mail the answers to numbers 1,2,3,4,6,7,9,10 to me within a few days of your log.
Failure to comply with these requirements will result in log deletion.
Good luck and good caching.
- Rev Mike