THE AMAZING FERN GULLY EarthCache
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Spanning more than a million acres in northwestern Arkansas, the Ozark Mountains are actually plateaus, uplifted as a unit, with few folds or faults. Water has shaped this land, creating rugged mountains, canyons and caves through erosion.
The Ozark Mountains are a physiographic and geologic highland region of the central United States. It covers an extensive portion of northwestern and north central Arkansas.
During the Pennsylvanian Period the Ozark Plateau was uplifted as a result of the Ouachita orogeny. During the early Paleozoic the deep ocean basin that existed in central and southern Arkansas was lifted when South America collided with North America creating the folded Ouachita Mountains and uplifting the Ozark plateau to the north.
The region is actually a high and deeply dissected plateau. Portions of the Ozark Plateau, the Springfield plateau of southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas, are underlain by Mississippian cherty limestones locally referred to as Boone chert consisting of limestone and chert layers. These are eroded and form steep hills, valleys and bluffs. The rocks of the region are essentially little disturbed, flat-lying sedimentary layers of Paleozoic age. The highest ridges and peaks are capped by Pennsylvanian sandstone. The deeply eroded valleys are cut into Mississippian limestone and below that layer Ordovician dolomite.
In these Ozark Mountains we find Fern Gully.
Fern Gully is a mile or so long declivity of the south flank of Fern Mountain and near the small community of Fern northeast of Fort Smith.
"Gully" has a harsh and unnatural sound about it, a condition often associated with reckless human action. But this is all Mother Nature. A showcase of the erosive power of a pounding thunderstorm and the patient freeze and thaw that splits the mightiest rocks. And in that sense, "gully" perfectly describes this land.
Fern Gully contains actual house-sized boulders that will simply amaze you. This is an awe inspiring place and the appeal to climbers is clear right away.
Huge chunks of rock have split off from the bluffs on either side and settled down the slope toward the stream. These are gigantic. Several are easily forty feet high, some sixty or more feet long. The sides of some are almost sheer and it's there you can trace the line of metal pitons drilled into the rock to mark the climbers' way. There are no actively organized trails in this upper quarter mile but rather informal pathways between one giant rock to another.
The trailhead is found by heading north from I40 on Highway 215. After you pass through Fern turn right on a gravel road off to your right. You will notice the flags marking the road. Set your odometer and drive a 1.5 miles until a road comes in from the right. Turn right and then immediately right again and head NNW two tenths of a mile to a parking area. A four-wheel drive vehicle is not needed. There may be mud holes, but you are driving on rock base. This is also a primitive campground the climbers use. The coordinates to the camping spot are N 35 37.036 W 094 00.405
Head west from the parking lot and in a mere hundred feet emerge on a bluff overlooking the upper end of Fern Gully. You will see where the climbers have made a nice rock lined trail from the parking area. There is a worn path atop the bluff that heads left. there's a three foot wide gap exposed in the bluffline that allows an easy, leaf-cushioned diagonal walk up from the base to the top.
The posted coordinates on the cache page take you directly in front of a massive boulder. Continue on the trail 75 feet at 205 degrees . You will see the tunnel or gap mentioned above to take you down into the gully.
To claim this earthcache you must send me an email answering the following questions. Do not post your answers in your online logs. You may post pictures on your logs, however, do not post any that will give away the answers.
1. What occurred to cause these huge boulders to be here today?
2. What is the elevation at the tunnel entrance?
3. What is the length of the tunnel going one way?
4. What is the color and texture of the rock?
5. What type of rock is this?
We certainly hope you enjoyed this area as much as we did.
Additional Hints
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