The Chagrin River's "High Falls" EarthCache
The Chagrin River's "High Falls"
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This Earthcache is located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It is located directly behind the Popcorn Shop which is located at 53 North Main Street.
There is plenty of public parking available so finding a spot won't be hard to do.
When you visit the site there is a Ohio Historical Marker that will contain some information that you will need to complete the logging requirements for this cache.
The Definition of a Waterfall:
The geological formation of a waterfall is typically a river or a stream that flows over a large step in the rocks which may have been formed by a fault line. Over a period of years, the edges of this shelf will gradually break away and the waterfall will steadily retreat upstream, creating a gorge of recession. Often, the rock stratum just below the more resistant shelf will be of a softer type, meaning undercutting, due to splashback, will occur here to form a shallow cave-like formation known as a rock shelter or plunge pool under and behind the waterfall. Eventually, the outcropping, more resistant cap rock will collapse under pressure to add blocks of rock to the base of the waterfall. These blocks of rock are then broken down into smaller boulders by attrition as they collide with each other, and they also erode the base of the waterfall by abrasion, creating a deep plunge pool.
These falls were created during the Wisconsinan glacial period. That means that the "High Falls" is 14,000 to 24,000 years old. When the glacier melted it left behind different types of land formations and debris.
In this part of Cuyahoga County there are different types of accumulation of glacial debris such as rock and soil. These glacial debris are refered to as moraines. Moraines are any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past ice age. The three types of moraines we have in the area are, ground moraines, wave-planned ground moraines, & end moraines.
In addition to the different types of moraines there are several different types of waterfall classifications.
Block: Water descends from a relatively wide stream or river.
Cascade: Water descends a series of rock steps.
Cataract: A large waterfall.
Fan: Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in contact with bedrock.
Horsetail: Descending water maintains some contact with bedrock.
Plunge: Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock surface.
Punchbowl: Water descends in a constricted form, then spreads out in a wider pool.
Segmented: Distinctly separate flows of water form as it descends.
Tiered: Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls.
Multi-step: A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly the same size each with its own sunken plunge pool.
Requirements to log this cache: (DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS IN YOUR LOG. PLEASE E-MAIL ME YOUR ANSWERS)
1. Using the ten different types of waterfall classifications listed above, what type of waterfall are you observing ?
2. How tall do you estimate the waterfall to be ?
3. How wide do you estimate the waterfall to be ?
4. The Chagrin River was named for who ?
5. The "High Falls" provided a power source for a gristmill
that once stood here. What year was it built in ?
6. Take a picture of yourself in front of the falls from the observation deck and post it in your log. (DO NOT LEAVE THE OBSERVATION DECK UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TO TAKE YOUR PICTURE.)
**Any logs that are missing the above logging requirements may be deleted**
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)