Natural Arch at Cherokee Rock Village Park EarthCache
Natural Arch at Cherokee Rock Village Park
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Cherokee Rock Village
This rock outcropping atop Lookout Mountain has been known by many
names over the years including Cherokee Rock Village, Little Rock
City, Sand Rock and Sandrock. It is believed to have been of
ceremonial importance to Native Americans. The view of Weiss Lake
and the surrounding area is spectacular. Cherokee Rock Village has
been popular with rock climbers since the early 1970s even before
there was a road to the site. Just as with Cornwall Furnace, the
society pushed for years to get the site turned into a public park.
Society President, Col. Robert N. Mann, was authorized by the
Cherokee County Commission to begin negotiations with Georgia Kraft
to acquire the site in December, 1973. In 1974, Georgia Kraft
agreed to donate the 20 acres of land that encompassed the
outcropping. There were stipulations that the site had to be
developed into a park and an access road had to be built to the
site. The access road to the site would be built by the county. The
county soon decided more land would be needed to make a usable park
and negotiations resumed for additional acreage. Once again, Col.
Mann began talks with Georgia Craft and The Nature Conservancy in
November, 1976. In April, 1977, The Nature Conservancy purchased a
total of 200 acres from Georgia Kraft for $15,000.00 for use as a
public park. This 200 acres included the 20 acres that been
involved in the prior negotiations. This accomplished the Society's
goal of the site being preserved as a public access area. Today,
the site remains a popular place for rock climbers, hikers and
others who go to enjoy the outdoors. Some scenes for the film
"Failure to Launch", starring Matthew McConaughey, were filmed at
the Cherokee Rock Village.
A natural arch or
natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch
forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a
narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with
a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually
eroding out until the rock shelters thus formed meet underneath the
ridge, thus forming the arch. Natural arches commonly form where
cliffs are subject to erosion from the sea, rivers or weathering
(subaerial processes); the processes "find" weaknesses in rocks and
work on them, making them bigger until they break through. The
choice between bridge and arch is somewhat arbitrary. The Natural
Arch and Bridge Society identifies a bridge as a subtype of arch
that is primarily water-formed.[1] By contrast, the Dictionary of
Geological Terms defines a natural bridge as a "natural arch that
spans a valley of erosion." Weather-eroded arches A diagram showing
the sequence of arch formation. 1.. Deep cracks penetrate into a
sandstone layer. 2.. Erosion wears away exposed rock layers and
enlarges the surface cracks, isolating narrow sandstone walls, or
fins. 3.. Alternating frosts and thawing cause crumbling and
flaking of the porous sandstone and eventually cut through some of
the fins. 4.. The resulting holes become enlarged to arch
proportions by rockfalls and weathering. Arches eventually
collapse, leaving only buttresses that in time will erode. a.. Many
of these arches are found within Arches National Park and Rainbow
Bridge National Monument in Utah. Water-eroded arches A topographic
map of Coyote Natural Bridge in Utah shows how the meandering
Coyote Gulch carved a shorter route through the rock under the
arch. The old riverbed is now higher than the present water level.
Some natural bridges may look like arches, but they form in the
path of streams that wear away and penetrate the rock. Pothole
arches form by chemical weathering as water collects in natural
depressions and eventually cuts through to the layer below. Natural
Bridges National Monument in Utah is another area to view several
natural bridges. Cave erosion Natural bridges can form from natural
limestone caves, where paired sinkholes collapse and a ridge of
stone is left standing in between, with the cave passageway
connecting from sinkhole to sinkhole. Like all rock formations,
natural bridges are subject to continued erosion, and will
eventually collapse and disappear. One example of this was the
double-arched Victorian coastal rock formation, London Bridge,
which lost an arch after storms increased erosion. Arches as
highways In a few places in the world, natural arches are truly
natural bridges because there are roads running across them. Two
such arches are found in Kentucky. One, a cave erosion arch made of
limestone, is located in Carter Caves State Park, and it has a
paved road on top. Another, a weather-eroded sandstone arch with a
dirt road on top, is located on the edge of Natural Bridge State
Resort Park in Kentucky. It is called White's Branch Arch (also
known as the Narrows), and the road going over it is usually
referred to as the Narrows Road.
To log your find, take a picture of you with your GPS with the
Natural Bridge behind you.(Optional)
(Exercise extreme caution at all times)
Post the picture with your log(picture is optional but would be
nice) and E-Mail me the answers to the following questions:
1. The arch is made from what type of stone? (_____________)
2. What do you estimate the span of the arch to be?
(______________)
3. How high do you estimate the top down to the ground?
(______________)
4. What type of natural Arch is this? (__________________)
Congrats to EggSilent4 & Bateshaving for Co - FTF....
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