Drawdy Falls Earthcache EarthCache
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The coordinates will take you to the parking area. Walk to the northwest, across the road to see the falls.
DRAWDY FALLS
WATERFALLS:
Waterfalls commonly form where water rushes down steep hillsides and quickly erodes the rocks. The height and number of waterfalls along a stream or river depends upon the type of rocks that are being eroded by the water. Some types of rocks (shale, for example) wear away more easily than others (such as sandstone or limestone).
As the river or stream wears away the weak rocks, they travel across the surface of stronger rocks. These more resistant rocks become the capstones to waterfalls. The number and thickness of these stronger rock units in a vertical sequence of rocks controls how many water falls there are and how much vertical drop there is on each waterfall.
TYPES OF WATERFALLS:
* Plunge: Havasu Falls
* Horsetail: Darwin Falls
* Cataract: Boyoma Falls
* Multi-Step: Ouzoud Falls
* Block: Niagara Falls
* Cascade: Swallow Falls
* Segmented: Burney Falls
* Tiered: Yosemite Falls
* Punchbowl: Edith Falls
* Fan: High Falls
Many waterfalls can be classified as more than one type. Drawdy Falls could be classified as both a Tiered and a Plunge falls.
GEOLOGY:
This area of West Virginia was formed during the Pennsylvanian Period. The Pennsylvanian Period took place between 280 and 310 million years ago. The types of rock formations that were created during this time period included sandstone, shale, coal and limestone.
The shale in the riverbed has eroded much faster than the limestone and the sandstone. The cavern that is visible behind the falls used to be made up of shale. Over thousands of years, the sandstone above and the limestone below remained, while the shale slowly eroded.
To successfully log this Earthcache as a find, you must do the following:
Post a photo of yourself AND/OR your GPS with Drawdy Falls in the background.
Email the cache owner with the answer to the following five questions:
1. Estimate the height of each of the steps of Drawdy Falls.
2. When facing the falls, estimate the height and width of the drainage culvert that is behind you, that allows Drawdy Creek to flow under State Route 3.
3. What type of rock is the layer of the falls that consist of the cavern?
4. What would you estimate the depth of the cavern to be behind and beside the falls?
5. According to the Historical Marker at the parking area, who was born here, and why is he famous?
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)