Blue Heron Mining Camp
When my sister, nephew and I visited Blue Heron Mining Area, I was really surprised no-one had put an earthcache here, so here goes! Get on the train from Stearns for the best experience but you can drive down to the mining camp and there is plenty of parking.
You can picnic here and there is some food on sale and a small souvenir shop but the one at Stearns is far more comprehensive.
Blue Heron is also known as Mine 18. It is a former coal mining community on the banks of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River in McCreary County, Kentucky and it has been recreated and is maintained as an interpretive history area in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
On arriving on the train, you step out onto the platform and can see some of the old buildings that have been preserved. This earthcache will involve you walking around the area and answering 5 questions. Please email your answers to me, don’t put them in your log. As there is quite a lot of information to give and some of the newer GPS’s are paperless, I am putting the questions first in case your GPS can’t download it all.
- Q1 Blue Heron was a coal camp. What does this mean as far as coal extraction and the miners are concerned?
- Q2 Give me a brief summary of how the allocation of a “room” of coal could affect a man’s livelihood.
- Q3 Tell me the names of the 6 types of coal found at Blue Heron and, if you can, how they differ from each other.
- Q4 Estimate the height of the bridge above the water using your GPS elevation readings.
- Q5 Find out an interesting fact about the families of the miners who worked at Blue Heron.
Stop 1
Step out to the visitor centre and learn about the area. There is a lot of information here but I am just going to direct you to one board for initial information, that is the “BLUE HERON TODAY” board - this is near waypoint 1. This board tells you a little about the mining and why there are no houses to restore.
Q1 Blue Heron was a coal camp. What does this mean as far as coal extraction and the miners are concerned?
Stop 2
Walk to the old mine entrance – this is waypoint 2. The entrance has been made very safe so go in and visit the miners and their daily working area! There is an information board nearby which is headed “Mining” and gives you plenty of information about the mining of the coal in the area.
The coal mined here was Bituminous coal. Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than anthracite. Its formation is usually the result of high pressure being exerted on the lignite coal. It is usually black but can be dark brown and may be banded with bright and dull material within the seams. Bituminous coal is an organic sedimentary rock formed by diagenetic (the change of sediments or existing sedimentary rocks into a different sedimentary rock) and sub metamorphic (change by heat and/or pressure) compression of peat bog material. Its primary constituents are macerals (any of the numerous microscopically recognizable, individual organic constituents of coal with characteristic physical and chemical properties): vitrinite, and liptinite. The carbon content of bituminous coal is around 60-80%; the rest is composed of water, air, hydrogen, and sulphur.
The diagram shows how coals develop as pressure increases over time.
Within the coal mining industry, this type of coal is known for releasing the largest amounts of firedamp, a dangerous mixture of gases that can cause underground explosions. Extraction of bituminous coal demands the highest safety procedures involving attentive gas monitoring, good ventilation and vigilant site management.
Q2 Give me a brief summary of how the allocation of a “room” of coal could affect a man’s livelihood.
Stop 3
Now head to the main mine buildings (waypoint 3). Have a good walk around as they have been made safe for visitors. Find the Tipple Operation board and read about the 6 different types of coal to come out of the mines.
Q3 Tell me the names of the 6 types of coal found at Blue Heron and, if you can, how they differ from each other.
Stop 4
Not only children like crossing the river. Go on, you know you want to go up there. Access the bridge and, a simple question, estimate either the height above the water or the length of the bridge (waypoint 4).
Q4 Estimate the height of the bridge above the water using your GPS elevation readings OR the length of the bridge (hint: it has five 100 foot span arches plus some more but not more than another arch span).
Stop 5
This is not really a stop but a mini tour of the various information boards around the site. There is a lot of information about the people who lived there, their lives and even some of the goods they bought (start at waypoint 5).
There are also some boards over by the mine entrance and they all make fascinating reading.
Q5 Find out an interesting fact about the families of the miners who worked at Blue Heron.
There is loads more to learn here and I have just guided you to what I think are the most relevant and interesting bits. Take your time here - the train waits for 90 minutes before returning to Stearns but if you go by car, there are walks and trails for you to follow, too.
More information can be found at:
Wikipedia
Big South Fork
Trip Advisor
Kentucky Geological Society
ENJOY YOUR VISIT!
