Leo Petroglyph EarthCache
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***The petrogylphs are a priceless work of art. Please treat them with the respect they deserve.***
******There is no need to bushwhack to complete this Earthcache. Please stay on the trails!******
Leo Petroglyph is located in Jackson County near Leo, Ohio. It is actually a series of petroglyphs, or rock carvings, ancient Indians chiseled into an outcropping of sandstone.
On the flat surface of this rock is one of the finest examples of prehistoric Indian petroglyphs or carved writings in Ohio. These figures are carved on an exposed portion of the Black Hand Sandstone bedrock which underlies most of east-central Ohio.
The meaning of the petroglyphs cannot be determined but it is thought that they are either tribal symbols or depict activities in the history of the Indian group. Among these inscriptions is a fish, a bird, an unidentified head or face is shown adorned with a headdress. The rendition of the figures suggests that they were probably carved by the late prehistoric Fort Ancient Indians, who lived in southern Ohio approximately 700 years ago.
The most arresting image on the petroglyph panel is a human head with horns or antlers and small bird's feet. The image may represent a shaman, or medicine man, transformed into a supernatural being.
It is assumed that the Fort Ancient Indians chose this area to tell their history because they knew that their work would practically last forever on the exposed bedrock.
The Black Hand sandstone gets its intriguing name from a huge image of a human hand sketched in soot on the face of a cliff in the gorge of the Licking River near Newark. The enigmatic black hand, destroyed by construction work on the Ohio and Erie Canal in the late 1820s, was believed to have been drawn by prehistoric Indians to show the way to the great flint deposits at Flint Ridge. The Black Hand sandstone was formed in the middle of the Mississippian period, about 330 million years ago, when the climate was balmy and much of Ohio was covered by a shallow sea. At that time, distant mountaintops to the east and southeast were whipped by wind and water, eroding coarse sand and pebbles from their lofty peaks. These particles tumbled through large mountain streams flowing northward into Ohio's sea, and collected in a long narrow delta with finger-like branches.
The petroglyphs are only the beginning of the exposed Black Hand Sandstone bedrock in the park. To claim this Earthcache as a find, you will be required to walk on the nature trail down into the gorge. There is no need to leave the trail.
The trail leads into a beautiful gorge with overhanging ledges that have eroded out of the sandstone and conglomerate.
Sandstone and conglomerate are fine-to-medium or coarse-grained rocks, respectively, that represent sand and gravel deposits in which the individual grains are held together by mineral cement. Most sandstone and conglomerate deposits are in the eastern half of the state in rocks of Devonian (Berea Sandstone), Mississippian (Black Hand Sandstone, Buena Vista Sandstone), and Pennsylvanian.
Source: Ohio Historical Society
To successfully log this Earthcache as a find, you must do the following:
Post a photo of yourself AND/OR your GPS with your favorite park feature in the background.
Email the cache owner with the answer to the following four questions:
1. What type of rock does the bedrock consist of, that the petroglyphs are carved into.
2. What is the approximate square footage of the exposed bedrock under the shelter at the posted coordinates?
3. We have included coordinates to the base of the cliff at the bottom of the gorge. What would you estimate the height of the cliff to be in front of you?
OHS Permit #
LEOP 0110
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)