Rules and park information
Here is a trail map
Park Hours
7:00am to 7:00pm Summer
7:00am to 5:00pm Winter
Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day
Rules and Regulations
1. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
2. Do not litter.
3. Weapons are prohibited.
4. Please stay on trails at all times. These trails have been designed to discourage erosion and harm to natural communities.
5. Please stay within park boundaries. Respect land owner's rights and private property signs.
6. No fires.
7. Day use only.
8. Destroying, cutting or removing gegetation, including wildflowers, is prohibited.
9. Foot traffic only. No motorized vehicles allowed.
10. Please keep dogs on a leash and clean up after them.
Hiker's Guide
This trail involves a strenuous hike which includes 338 stone steps to the bottom and a difficult return climb. Be aware that surfaces may become slippery during inclement weather or depending of the season. Please follow the instructions below:
Stairway Rules
1. Use handrail at all times.
2. Children under age 8 must be accompanied by an adult.
3. Stay on the established trail at all times.
4. Running is not allowed.
5. Throwing or dropping of objects is prohibited. (You could cause serious injury or even kill people that might be below you on the trail)
6. Footwear suitable for wet walking surfaces is recommended (sandals, slick soled shoes and high heels are not recommended).
7. No animals allowed on steps, except service dogs.
8. Hiking the steps is not recommended if you have heart or breathing difficulties, have had recent surgery or illness, you are pregnant, you have a fear of heights, or any condition that may prevent you from strenuous exercise.
Branson Park and rec department nor the maker of this earthcache is responsible for your safety
The Geology
Karst topography
Karst topography is a geological formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. Subterranean drainage may limit surface water with few to no rivers or lakes. Many karst regions display distinctive surface features, with sinkholes being the most common. However, distinctive karst surface features may be completely absent where the soluble rock is mantled, such as by glacial debris or confined by one or more superimposed non-soluble rock strata. Some karst regions include thousands of caves, although evidence of caves large enough for human exploration is not a required characteristic of karst.
Types and formation
A cave or cavern is a hollow place in the ground, especially natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. Caves form naturally by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground.
solution caves
Solutional caves are the most frequently occurring caves and such caves form in rock that is soluble, such as limestone, but can also form in other rocks, including chalk, dolomite, marble, salt, and gypsum. Rock is dissolved by natural acid in groundwater that seeps through bedding-planes, faults, joints and so on. Over geological epochs cracks expand to become caves and cave systems.
primary caves
Caves formed at the same time as the surrounding rock are called primary caves.
Lava tubes are formed through volcanic activity and are the most common primary caves. As lava flows downhill, its surface cools and solidifies. Hot liquid lava continues to flow under that crust, and if most of it flows out, a hollow tube remains. Examples of such caves can be found in the Canary Islands, Jeju-do, the basaltic plains of Eastern Idaho and other places. Kazumura Cave near Hilo, Hawaii is a remarkably long and deep lava tube; it is 65.6 km long (40.8 mi).
How caves form
Cave formation begins when rainwater absorbs carbon dioxide as it falls through the atmosphere. Rain water must have carbon dioxide to become acidic. It must be acidic to chemically react to the limestone bedrock. Rainwater is absorbed by the soil into the ground.
As rainwater comes through the soil it absorbs more carbon dioxide that is being produced by plants that are dead. This changes the ground water to a weaker form of carbonic acid (H2O + CO2 = H2CO3). As it travels down through the ground it comes to solid rock. When the rock is limestone or dolomite caves can form.
The water reacts chemically with limestone and slowly a larger and larger space will form. This happens because the rocks are made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). This is what you call chemical erosion.
As the space becomes larger and larger the water can flow through. As it flows it erodes. Physical erosion washes away rock and sand. This is what makes a cave larger and forms an underground stream. Finally over hundreds of thousands of years or even millions of years the cave is formed.
**Logging requirements**
DO NOT POST ANSWERS IN YOUR LOG.
Send the following answers to me via email.
- The text "GC55727 Branson Geology Tour stop 1" on the first line
- How wide is the entrance of this cave?
- How tall is the entrance of this cave?
- How far back does this cave go?
- Does this cave have a relative same height throughout or does the height fluctuate?
- What’s the elevation here?
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