There is a walk-in area near the road, so please use this entrance. You will have a small hike uphill to the cave. You will see the falls first, but keep going up to the cave. The area could be muddy, especially after a rain. Please note, there may be cattle in this pasture. If there is a group of kids here, you may want to visit another day. The landowner has granted permission to access the cave.
HISTORY-
The local legend is that Bandit Queen Belle Starr (Queen of the Oklahoma Outlaws) used this cave as a hideout. Unfortunately, this cave is now a popular hangout for the area kids as demonstrated by the graffiti on the stone walls.
LIMESTONE-
Pure limestones are white or almost white. Because of impurities, such as clay, sand, organic remains, iron oxide and other materials, many limestones exhibit different colors, especially on weathered surfaces. Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or dense, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock. Chert nodules are common in limestone layers (especially in the Florence Limestone or Permian Age, which outcrops in the Flint Hills area from Marshall County southward to Cowley and Chautauqua counties).
CHERT-
Chert is commonly known as flint and is found in many limestones as nodules or continous beds. It is a very hard sedimentary rock and is light gray to dark gray in color. It probably formed from the remains of ancient sea sponges or other ocean animals that have been fossilized. Silica has replaced the tissue forming the sedimentary rock. Flint is a very dark form of chert. It was widely used by ancient people to make arrowheads, spear heads, and knives.
NODULES-
A nodule is a small, irregularly rounded knot, mass, or lump of a mineral that typically has a contrasting composition, such as a chert nodule in limestone. The nodule gradually grows outwards from the nucleus, which may be a small grain of rock but is very often the remains of a dead organism. In such cases, the organism is quickly encased in a protective rock ‘shell’. When the rock is later buried at depth and subjected to crushing pressure and destructive temperature, the fossil within the nodule is protected and survives. Fossils in nodules are so well protected, that they usually even retain their three-dimensional structure.
FOSSILS-
Fossils are the remains or traces of plants and animals that lived long ago. Most fossils are found in earth that once lay underwater. They usually formed from the hard parts—such as shells or bones—of living things. After a living thing died, it sank to the bottom of the sea
LOGGING REQUIREMENTS-
You will need to answer the following questions before logging this cache as a find. Do not post these answers with your log, use the message center. The graffiti is everywhere; but you should be able to locate an area for answering the questions.
1. Please reference the GC code
2. How many are in your party
3. Describe the texture of the cave walls (rough, smooth, coloring, etc.)
4. Do you see evidence of fossils? If so, describe what you see.
5. Do you see any chert? Describe the color and the approximately dimensions.
6. Do you see any nodules? If so, describe what you found.
Please feel free to take pictures of the little waterfall below the cave with your found log.