Hindostan Falls - A Meander Cutoff EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

Geocaching HQ: Hello from Groundspeak,

We must regretfully archive this cache at the request of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) as a result of recent changes to the IDNR's geocaching policy. Per the new policy, EarthCaches are no longer allowed in Fish and Wildlife Areas.

You can find the new policy here: http://www.in.gov/dnr/7488.htm

Please be sure to read through the new policy. Your local reviewers and Groundspeak are available to answer any questions. At the bottom of this log, you will find email addresses of the Indiana Reviewers, as well as a contact at Groundspeak, who are happy to help. In the meantime, please know that the Indiana Reviewers have done everything in their power to keep as many caches as possible on IDNR lands and to make this transition as smooth as possible. They have worked long and hard with the IDNR to come up with a new policy that we hope will work for most cache owners.

We regret any inconvenience the implementation of this new policy may cause. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Thank You,

The Groundspeak Community Relations Team

Reviewer Contact Information:

Reviewer Hilts
Reviewer.Hilts@gmail.com

The Mad Reviewer
TheMadReviewer@gmail.com

TheScarlettReviewer
TheScarlettReviewer@gmail.com

Hoosier Reviewer
HoosierReviewer@gmail.com

Groundspeak Contact Information:

contact@geocaching.com
Attention: Jessica

More
Hidden : 5/27/2009
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:


Posted coordinates are for an overlook of the Falls at Hindostan Falls Public Fishing Area on the East Fork of White River. The Falls are approximately 13½ miles downstream from Shoals, Indiana. Access to the area may be restricted, and/or a good view of the falls limited, during periods of flooding.

The Falls -

Hindostan Falls is one of several locations on the East Fork of White River where a rock ledge extends entirely across the river channel. At this spot, the ledge of sandstone of the Mansfield Formation results in a vertical drop of about five feet during low pool. Just downstream from the falls is a horizontal exposure of the same formation about the size of a football field. This outcrop is known locally as Flat Rock. It is visible only during periods of low flow.

Falls Formation -

Hindostan Falls was formed after the original river valley floodplain was backfilled with 30 to 40 feet of Pleistocene glacier outwash and erosion of the bedrock at the low point of the meander neck created a new and much shorter river channel (the old channel being about five miles longer than the new). Apparently this new cutoff has been completed fairly recently in geological terms since the river has not yet had time to cut down the rock barrier in the new channel resulting in approximately seven feet of fall in less than a quarter mile.
The bedrock mass of upland hills between the old channel and the new probably stood out as an island during times of glacial flooding.
It has been theorized that the tongue of a pre-Wisconsinan glacier (the Wisconsin glacial period began about 50,000 years ago) may also have been involved in the meander cut-off process. This theory is based on the numerous subparallel linear grooves which span the entire exposed down valley length of the rock. These grooves are interpreted as Nye channels, commonly called N-channels, that were believed to have been cut into the sandstone by the movement of meltwater slurry confined beneath a layer of glacial ice.

The Town -

In 1816 Frederick Sholts applied to Knox County Circuit Court for a ferry across the falls on the East Fork of White River which at that time was still part of Daviess County. The town of Hindostan Falls was established about 1818 and the population quickly grew to about 500 people. The town had a grist mill, Tavern, Sawmill, and an industry soon developed around the manufacture of Hindostan Whetstone which was quarried in Orange County and transported by wagon down the Vincennes Trace to the Falls. Whetstone, bacon and corn were taken to markets downstream in flatboats. After a few years of prosperity, an epidemic, most likely yellow fever, struck the town. Many died from the disease, others left, and by about 1829 the town was abandoned. Square holes from the mill cut into the sandstone of Flat Rock are all that remain of the town.

Logging Requirements -


Email Indotguy with answers to the following questions. DO NOT post the answers with your log!

1) Approximately how wide is the East Fork of White River (bank to bank) in the vicinity of Hindostan Falls?

2) What is the approximate width of the widest section of the old river valley floodplain where it is crossed by SR 550?

3) Optional - Upload a photo with your log of you and your GPS with Hindostan Falls, Flat Rock or other Hindostan Falls landmark in the background.

Note - Logging requirements should be fulfilled in a timely manner. Failure to satisfy the logging requirements or make corrections within a reasonable time may result in log deletions.

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