Catawba Falls EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

Hawaiian Ninja: Construction is still ongoing and not sure when it will be completed. Hopefully with the changes it will make the area safer. Going to let this one go as it has been a while now. Thanks for everyone that visited my earthcache.

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Hidden : 5/14/2009
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Another cache brought to you by a member of the USCGA

Catawba Falls and Upper Catawba Falls are considered by many people to be among the more attractive waterfalls in NC. Parking can be found at the end of Catawba River Road. Please do not block the driveway of the residence, park on the road closest to the river.
Catawba Falls is actually divided into an upper and lower fall. The trail leading in will bring you to the bottom of Lower Catawba Falls. Both are highly photogenic. The problem is that even though they are in Pisgah National Forest, part of the trail leading to them is on the Foothills Conservancy land. Private property surrounds the pocket of national-forest land on three sides; the fourth is bounded by I-40, where it is illegal to park on the side of the road except in an emergency.

Hiking to Catawba Falls, a Blue Ridge Mountains and Old Fort area natural treasure is open to the public again through a temporary agreement between Foothills Conservancy and McDowell County.

The old trail from the end of the road and bridge crosses about one-quarter of a mile of the conservancy's property. All children need close supervision due to hazards along the Catawba River on Forest Service land.

Management of use and maintenance by the county of the conservancy's 23-acre access property at the end of Catawba River Road allows daytime hiking along the old trail to Pisgah National Forest and Catawba Falls.

Catawba Falls is located on a post-metamorphic thrust fault between the Blue Ridge Belt and Chauga Belt. This northeast-trending fault zone forms much of the boundary between the Blue Ridge Belt and Inner Piedmont belts. Although this zone of strongly deformed rocks is one of the major structural features in the southern Appalachians, its origin is poorly understood.

The Blue Ridge Belt is composed of rocks from over one billion to about one-half billion years old. This geological belt is a mixture of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock that has been repeatedly squeezed, fractured, faulted and twisted into folds. The Blue Ridge Belt is well known for its deposits of feldspar, mica and quartz-basic materials.

The Chauga Belt which is sometimes grouped into the Inner Piedmont Belt is the most intensely deformed and metamorphosed segment of the Piedmont. The metamorphic rocks range from 500 to 750 million years in age. The Inner Piedmont Belt is comprised of gneiss and schist that have been intruded by younger granitic rocks.

The metamorphic rocks on the Chauga Belt side of the Brevard Fault Zone is comprised of "fish scale" schist and phyllonite, graphitic; interlayered with feldspathic metasandstone, marble lenses. On the other side of the fault zone you will find massive gneiss and micaceous granule conglomerate; includes schist, phyllite, and amphibolite. The metamorphic rocks in this area date back to the late proterozoic era (neoproterozoic era).



Classification of Waterfalls


Block
A waterfall in a Block form occurs over a wide breadth of the stream. The waterfall must be wider than it is tall. A waterfall with this form does not have to be a solid sheet of water across it's entire width.

Cascade
A waterfall of a Cascade form descends over, gradually sloping rocks, a series of small steps in quick succession, or a rugged sloping surface of some kind. Cascades can be both gradual and steep.

Curtain
Curtain waterfalls occur along a wide breadth of stream where the falls must be taller than it is wide. A waterfall of this form often becomes narrower in low discharge periods.

Fan
Waterfalls of a Fan form occur when the breadth of the water in the waterfall increases during it's decent, causing the base of the falls to appear much wider than the top of the falls.

Horsetail
Horsetail waterfalls are characterized by the constant or semi-constant contact the water maintains with the bedrock as it falls. Horsetail waterfalls can be almost vertical, as well as very gradual.

Plunge
The classic and overly cliched waterfall form, where the water drops vertically, losing most, or all contact with the rock face. This waterfall form has also been referred to as a "Cataract" and a "Vertical" form waterfall.

Punchbowl
Punchbowl waterfalls, coined from the famous Punch Bowl Falls in Oregon, occur where the stream is constricted to a narrow breadth and is forcefully shot outward and downward into a large pool.

Segmented
Segmented waterfalls occur where the stream is broken into two or more channels before descending over the cliff, causing multiple falls to occur side by side.

Slide
Similar to a cascade, a Slide type waterfall descends a smooth, gradual bedrock surface. Slide waterfalls maintain constant contact with the bedrock, and are often associated with the granitic family of bedrocks.

Tiered
Tiered waterfalls are characterized by multiple distinct drops in relatively close succession to one another. Whether or not a waterfall with two visible drops counts as a tiered waterfall is up to the beholder. I typically require tiers to be visible together and within a given distance of each other.


Logging Requirements


Please email the first two requirements to me, don't post answers in your log.

1) Using the waterfall classification guide above, what classification of waterfall do you believe the waterfall is?
2) Estimate the height of the waterfall.
3) Take a picture of yourself and your GPS with the waterfall in the picture from any angle and post it in with your online log.

WARNING!!!
Wet rocks are very slippery and people fall to their deaths from waterfalls every year! If you visit them, please be careful and use common sense! Do not climb rocks around the waterfalls and do not ever cross a stream or swim at the top of a waterfall.
There are also many species of rare plants near some of these waterfalls, living in and near the spray areas of the falls. Please be very careful not to trample vegetation while exploring any falls!

Please do not put yourself in any danger trying to meet these logging requirements.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gb trg gur nafjref gb dhrfgvba 2, tb hc gur genvy ba gur evtug fvqr bs gur jngresnyy.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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