A change in
plate motions set the stage for the first Paleozoic mountain
building event (Taconic orogeny) in North America around 496 to 440
million years ago.
The
Appalachian margin became a very active plate boundary when a
neighboring oceanic plate, the Iapetus, collided with and began
sinking beneath the North American craton.
With the
birth of this new subduction zone, the early Appalachians were
born. Thrust faulting uplifted and warped older sedimentary rock
and Iron Mountain is one result of this activity.
Backbone
Rock is one of the most interesting geological features in the
world. It is basically a long, tall spur of stone that extends out
from Iron Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest at Sutherland
Community, TN."The Rock" stands approximately 75 feet high and 20
feet thick.
During the
early 1900’s one of the primary industries in the Southern
Appalachian Mountains was timber harvesting. The Tennessee Lumber
Company moved to the Sutherland area at this time and set up a mill
to cut timber. The company hired 400 men to keep the operation
running. The Tennessee Lumber Company sawed 100,000 board feet a
day.
To get the
timber to market, railroad lines were constructed throughout the
land. Most of the track was laid following the natural terrain. The
Empire Mining Company built the Beaver Dam Railroad to connect with
the Virginia-Carolina line.
In 1901 the
Empire Mining Company was laying track and they came to this stone
ridge called Backbone Rock because of its
appearance.
The company
decided to blast a short tunnel through the rock to lay its tracks.
After the tunnel was blasted and the track was laid, the smoke
stack of the train's engine could not pass through the tunnel. The
top of the tunnel had to be hand chiseled to eliminate this
problem. The railroad tracks were later replaced by a two-lane road
which is still in use today.
To claim credit for this Earthcache, you
must:
- Take a photo of yourself and your GPSr with
the tunnel in the background.
- What is the road clearance (height) of the
tunnel.
- Estimate the width of the
tunnel
| Papafuz & Mama have earned GSA's highest
level: |
 |