Cathedral Falls Amphitheater EarthCache
Cathedral Falls Amphitheater
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Cathedral Falls (aka 'The Washing Machine') is one of West Virginia's highest and most scenic waterfalls. It is a steep cascade type waterfall over 60 feet high that empties into a natural amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is surely the reason the falls was named 'Cathedral'. Be sure to take a moment to listen and appreciate the sounds of the falls.
This is a very easy waterfall to visit. It is located in a small roadside park along US 60 about 1 mile east of Gauley Bridge, where the New River and Gauley River meet to form the Great Kanawha River. The falls is visible from the road, and the parking area, but much better views can be had if you take a short walk. There are some lights mounted on the gorge wall opposite the falls, so I assume the falls are sometimes illuminated at night. Depending on when you visit the falls, the water falls could be minimal and just trickling or flowing heavily. If you can make it during a rainy period, it will be beautiful.
So how was this falls made? The falls are formed by Cane Branch descends over the Upper Nuttall sandstone formation, which outcrops to the east in the New River Gorge at Beauty Mountain and Hawks Nest State Park and to the west as Kanawha Falls. The Nuttall Sandstone is geologically divided into two massive beds, both 75-to-100-feet thick and generally divided by five-to-ten feet of dark, sandy shale and sometimes a thin bed of coal. Both beds form sheer, nearly vertical cliffs in the gorges of the New, Gauley, and Meadow Rivers, where the lower bed is a more prominent cliff-maker. The Upper Nuttall Sandstone has been quarried, and notably used in construction of the Fayette County Jail and Fayette County National Bank, in Fayetteville, WV. The Upper Sandstone member has been described by the West Virginia Geological Survey as 40-to-100 feet thick and "heavy- to current-bedded, grayish-white, reddish-grey to brown, seldom pebbly,... and 5-to-15 feet above the more prominent cliff-maker -- the Lower Nuttall ledge."
The V-shaped canyon (you are standing in and have been driving in) of the New River is an outstanding natural feature of West Virginia. It was caused by erosion that has occurred over a very long period of time, forming the cliffs and canyon walls. You can see the ongoing effects of erosion in the large rocks and slides that have tumbled from the cliffs and down into the river. The gorge cuts through the Appalachian Plateau, and exposes 3200 feet of very old rocks. Most of the rocks that you can see exposed in the gorge are sandstone and shale. In the lower gorge, the New River cuts through the hard Nuttall sandstone, a unique sandstone type that is 98% quartz.
The New River has performed natural surgery for us by cutting the Gorge from Hinton to Gauley Bridge. This cut has exposed a view of the rocks that allows us to understand the present geologic conditions and interpret their geologic history. Such a scene is rare in the world, and consequently geologists take full advantage of these unique canyons. The stretch going downstream from Hinton to Gauley Bridge is approximately 66 miles long. The river drops 750 feet. Just as the river flows toward the north, the average elevation of the surrounding ridges also decreases northward, and the rock layers show this same inclination, or dip. So as one travels downstream, each successive rock layer disappears below the river and out of view. The diagram below shows how the rock layers dip closer to the Kanawha formation.
On U.S. 60, the Midland Trail Scenic Highway, Cathedral Falls have been a popular scenic landmark since prehistoric Native Americans entered the region. Now a roadside park, a picnic shelter, viewing area, and a parking area have been provided by the City of Gauley Bridge and would be ideal for a picnic. The posted coordinates will take you to Cathedral Falls where you can see the rock layers. From here, you can answer the qualifying answers for this Earthcache. A bridge is 150 feet before reaching the posted coordinates. As you look towards the falls from the bridge, the ridges to your left and right are 1700+ feet elevation and the posted coordinates are about 600 feet. Be sure to look up and take notice how the rock surrounds you high up as if you are in a cathedral. There are also trails to the right leading up to the top and middle of the falls, just be careful if you walk these.
TO QUALIFY FOR THE EARTHCACHE
Email me the answers to the following questions.
1. What type of rock do you think is at the base of the waterfall?
a. shale
b. coal
c. sandstone
2. While standing in the natural amphitheatre below steep cliffs, do you think you are in the Upper Nuttall or Lower Nuttall?
3. Do you see any coal seams along the walls of the amphitheatre of Cathedral Falls?
4. How many feet per mile does the New River drop from Hinton to Gauley Bridge? (the answer to this can be found by calculating from information given above).
A picture is not required but would be nice to add to the log to remember the beauty in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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