The trail has yellow blazes which are at times hard to see.
There are 10 stream crossings in that 1.7 miles, but in summer,
fall, and winter the water level is very low and most can be
crossed without getting your boots wet. It will however take some
hiking skill. Do not attempt this EarthCache
during times of high water.
To get to the Devil's Fork Loop you must take a National Forest
Service road for about .3 miles to a parking area at 36 49.111N
082 37.594W. Follow the road to 36 49.167N 082 37.737W.
At this point look to the left of the road for the yellow blazes.
The trail and your geological adventure starts here.
The Devil's Bathtub is an erosional feature caused by the
Devil's Fork creek. There are four types of erosion. They are
water, wind, ice and wave erosion. This is an excellent example of
water erosion creating a really unique feature.
Water is the most important cause of erosion especially in
streams like Devil's Fork. Fast moving streams like this one can
pick up and transport large objects. The faster the stream moves
the larger the objects are that may be picked up. In times of very
heavy rain Devil's Fork can move very large objects.
Streams are able to erode their banks in three different ways.
The first is the stream may erode the bank by hydraulic action of
the water itself which moves the particles. Another way is the
water may corrode sediments by removing ions and dissolving them.
The third way is particles in the water strike bedrock and erode
it.
The water may erode an area in three different places. Lateral
erosion erodes the sediments on the sides of the stream channel.
Down cutting makes the stream bed deeper. Headward erosion erodes
the channel up stream.
To receive
credit for a find you must post a picture (optional) of yourself
with the bathtub in the background and answer the following two
questions:
1. How high is
the cut from the bathtub to the trail above?
2. Estimate the
depth of the bathtub.
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