EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
1. MESSAGE …. From the observation platform at the posted coords, estimate the size of the sinkhole. ... NOTE: You can get help with this inside the museum. An elevator descends to near the bottom. A zip-line traverses the sinkhole.
2. MESSAGE …. How was this sinkhole formed?
3. MESSAGE …. Walk along the wall at the bottom of the sinkhole. There are a myriad of fossils embedded within the wall. How many of KY's state fossils are there?
4. MESSAGE …. Post a picture of a fossil you found. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in creating this earthcache by adding A and B to your log.
A. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
B. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
SINKHOLE to STINKHOLE to SINKHOLE
SINKHOLE - The town of Horse Cave was built around the giant sinkhole of Hidden River Cave. Behind a row of Main Street businesses, there's a three story drop down to the wide bottom. Constant cool temperatures made it a center of town activity in the early days. Tennis courts were set up, with safety nets to keep the balls from rolling down into the cave.
STINKHOLE - The town dumped trash and let raw sewage run down into the river. Due to the stench that permeated the area, the cave was closed.
SINKHOLE - In 1989, a new sewage treatment plant began the rehabilitation. The museum was opened in 1993 by the American Cave Conservation Assoc. a nonprofit group. Hidden River was America's most polluted cave, so it was fitting that the Association locate their headquarters on top of it.
FORMATION
HIDDEN RIVER SINKHOLE - When carbonate rocks are exposed at the surface, water gradually erodes the rock leaving behind a depression called a sinkhole. Hidden River is part of a huge sinkhole plain (Pennyroyal Plateau aka Mississippi Plateau) covering hundreds of square miles.
HIDDEN RIVER CAVE - When the soluble carbonate rocks are capped by insoluble sandstone, erosional destruction is limited. The sinkhole gives way to the nearby cave opening.
EXPLORATION
An elevator descends three stories into the sink hole. A circular walk leads around a wall laden with fossils. Finally, a series of staircases descend into the mouth of Hidden River Cave.
https://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/didfossil.htm
"Kentucky’s State Fossil is a brachiopod. Brachiopods are fossil shells, from animals that lived in ancient seas. Most are now extinct. Although they resemble clams, brachiopods were a different group of animals. Hundreds of different types of brachiopods can be found in Kentucky. Modern brachiopods live in the sea. Because brachiopods can be found in rocks throughout Kentucky, we know that Kentucky was once covered by oceans."
THANK YOU Maria and Clay Lancaster for all your help and permission to place this earthcache.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
ABOVE GROUND TOUR - 270-854-3054
Kentucky is Karst Country - What You Should Know About Sinkholes and Springs by James C Currens
http://oepos.ca.uky.edu/files/Ky_Karst.pdf
Encyclopedia of Caves .... Edited by William B. White and David C. Culver
13 of the Biggest, Strangest, and Most Devastating Sinkholes on Earth by Ecoist
http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/08/26/incredible-strange-amazing-sinkholes/
Sinkhole swallows eight cars in National Corvette Museum in Kentucky
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinkhole-swallow-eight-cars-in-national-corvette-museum-in-kentucky/