The coordinates will take you to Preston's Spring Cave. It is the point were the water from McConnell's Springs comes out of the ground for the final time and goes to Wolf Run Creek. This is the second part of a two related Earth Caches. The first one "Where does it go....." GC36JAA
Kentucky is one of the most famous karst areas in the world. Much of the state's beautiful scenery, particularly the horse farms in the Bluegrass Region, is the result of development of karst landscape. The karst topography of Kentucky is mostly on limestone, but also some dolostone.
Ninety-two of Kentucky's 120 counties contain at least some areas of karst. About 40 percent of the state is underlain by rocks with the potential for at least some karst development, and 20 percent of the state has well-developed karst features.
A karst landscape has sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, and springs. Kentucky is one of the most famous karst areas of the world. Much of the state's beautiful scenery, particularly the horse farms of the Inner Bluegrass, results from the development of karst landscape. Karst underlies regions of major economic importance to the state. Many of Kentucky's cities, including Frankfort, Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Munfordville, Hopkinsville, Russellville, Princeton, Lawrenceburg, Georgetown, Winchester, Paris, Somerset, Versailles, and Nicholasville, are partly or entirely underlain by karst. Springs and wells in karst areas supply water to thousands of homes. Much of Kentucky's prime farmland is underlain by karst. A substantial portion of the Daniel Boone National Forest, with its important recreational and timber resources, is underlain by karst. Caves also provide recreational opportunities and contain unique ecosystems. Mammoth Cave, with over 350 miles of passages, is the longest surveyed cave in the world. Two other caves in the state are over 30 miles long, and 10 Kentucky caves are among the 50 longest in the United States. Although maps that show in detail where the karst terrain of Kentucky occurs have never been made, the areas underlain by rocks on which karst can develop have been mapped. The 1:500,000-scale geologic map (Noger, 1988) can be used to estimate the percentage of karst terrain in the state. Ninety-two of Kentucky's 120 counties contain at least some areas of karst. About 40 percent of the state is underlain by rocks with the potential for at least some karst development (recognizable on topographic maps), and 20 percent of the state has well-developed karst features. Karst Regions The karst of Kentucky occurs in five principal regions, but also in many scattered locations. The largest area is the Western Pennyroyal, arching from the Ohio River north of Elizabethtown southward, then westward through Bowling Green and Hopkinsville, then northward again back to the Ohio River. Many of the state's longest caves, and terrain most densely pocketed with sinkholes, are in this region. The next largest expanse is the Inner Bluegrass, surrounding Lexington and including Georgetown, Versailles, Winchester, and several other cities. The Eastern Pennyroyal lies east of the Inner Bluegrass and reaches from the Ohio River south-southwest to the Tennessee border. The Eastern Pennyroyal includes the communities of Mount Vernon, Somerset, and Monticello. The Carter Caves region, east-northeast of Winchester, is the fourth region, but it is sometimes considered part of the Eastern Pennyroyal. Although no large communities are located on this karst, Carter Caves State Park, an important tourist attraction, is located here. The last major karst area lies along the crest of Pine Mountain in southeastern Kentucky, where geologic forces have thrust the limestone from deep beneath the coal field to the surface. No communities occupy this karst area, but it is a significant recreational and ecological resource, and springs draining from it are important water supplies. Karst terrain affects the lives of many Kentuckians every day. Most people don't realize they are affected because the costs are hidden in the form of higher taxes and increased cost of living. Often enough, the consequences of living in a karst terrain directly affect people's lives. Of vital concern is protection of groundwater resources. For example, many communities in Kentucky were established near karst springs to take advantage of the reliable water supply. Because of pollution, most of these town springs have long since been abandoned as water supplies. Factories and homes built over filled sinkholes may be damaged as the fill is transported out of the sinkhole and the soil cover collapses. Also, structures built in sinkholes are often vulnerable to flood damage.
Features of a Karst Landscape The term "karst" is derived from a Slavic word that means barren, stony ground. It is also the name of a region in modern Slovenia near the border with Italy that is well known for its sinkholes and springs. The name has been adopted by geologists as the term for all such terrain. A karst landscape most commonly develops on limestone but can develop on several types of rocks, such as dolomite, gypsum, and salt. The karst terrains of Kentucky are mostly on limestone and formed over hundreds of thousands of years. As water moves underground, from hilltops toward a stream through tiny fractures in the limestone bedrock, the rock is slowly dissolved away by weak acids found naturally in rain and soil water. An aquifer is any body of rock from which important quantities of drinkable water may be produced. Springs are sites where groundwater emerges from an aquifer to become surface water. Springs occur along creeks and rivers where the water table meets the land surface. They also occur where rocks that do not allow water to flow easily, such as shale, underlie or have been faulted against permeable rock. The impermeable rock blocks the flow of the groundwater, forcing it to the surface. Karst springs occur where the groundwater flow has concentrated to dissolve a conduit or cave in soluble rock. The groundwater basin of a karst spring collects drainage from all the sinkholes and sinking streams in its drainage area. The water flowing from each sinkhole joins together underground to form ever-increasing flow in successively larger passages, which discharge at the spring. Karst springs (also known as "cave springs") can have large openings and discharge very large volumes of water. The soil cover, narrow fractures, small conduits, and larger cave passages collectively form a karst aquifer.
As part of the education experience, it is required that you be able to answer some questions about your visit.
To obtain credit for this cache email me the answers to the following questions….
1. How many of Kentucky Counties contain at least some karst?
2. How wide is the mouth of the cave?
3. Why does the water resurface at this location?
4. According to the sign at the parkng coordinates the stream was part of a ________ acre Cave Spring Tract?
5. What year was the sign at the parking coordinates placed?
Once you email me the answers, go ahead and post. If your answers are wrong, I will notify you.
While no photos are necessary to log this cache, feel free to post as many as you like. (Please, no spoilers.)
Good Luck!
Cache is approved and permission granted by LFUCG Division of Parks and Recreation. Cache code is PSO5e - C Michael Downs
Sources of information for the EarthCache quoted from the Kentucky Geology information website. I have used sources available to me by using the library, internet, research, and asking questions to get information for this earth cache. I am by no means a geologist. Like most people I use whats available to me to get geological information just like 99.9 percent of the geocachers who create these great Earth Caches. I enjoy Earth Caches and want people to get out and see what I see every time I go and explore this great place we live in.