Open Memorial Day to Labor Day.
THIS IS SEASONAL, BUT KEEPING IT ACTIVE FOR THOSE PLANNING A VISIT.
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:
Take a leisurely stroll through this cave to discover the hidden treasures within. As you leave, your tour guide will show you Grandfather, whose heart smiled with each new thing you saw and heard. This is the only cave we have discovered that is wheelchair accessible.
1. MESSAGE …. a. Name six speleothems you observed during your tour. ... b. Name four critters (rock or real) you encountered during your tour.
2. MESSAGE …. Name something that indicated water once flowed through the cave. Explain.
3. MESSAGE …. You will see a piece of stalactite that broke off and is lying on the cave floor. Your tour guide will tell you how much it weighs. Look at the formation from whence it came, and estimate how much that formation weighs.
4. MESSAGE …. a. Where is the giant stalagmite located? ... b. What is it called? ... c. How big is it? ... d. How long has it been growing?
LOG …. Post a picture of you or your signature item anywhere along your tour. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and 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
This is the only cave we visited that I was able to take a leisurely stroll through. It was so nice to just focus on the journey. An added gift this cave tour offers - it is both wheelchair accessible and pet friendly.
THANK YOU Jason (cave manager) for permission to share this learning adventure.
THANK YOU Freda for a delightful tour.
Woodward Cave has the largest stalagmite in Pennsylvania!
WOODWARD CAVE
Woodward Cave is a solutional cave. It was formed by water removing soluble limestone, thus leaving behind various sized passages. Instead of miles of interlacing passages and tunnels, typical Pennsylvania caves have lengths of hundreds of feet. Woodward is considered a live cave because water is still dripping and formations are still growing. There is only a small corner that is considered dead with the drip line devoid of water.
Seneca Indians called this Red Panther Cave, named after the chief's son, who may have been buried here. In the early 1800s this cave was a hideout for local bandits.
Pure potter's clay is found on the sides of one of the tunnels. This clay was used by Native Americans to make pottery. It is difficult to buy clay this pure. When rubbed it feels muddy, but rubs right off. Natural play dough!
This cave is habitat for 4000+ hibernating bats each winter. Bat-friendly doors were installed on the front of the cave to preserve this cave as a bat habitat. They enter in the fall and leave in the spring. We were fortunate to see a colony of bats during our visit.
CAVE FEATURES
Entrances - This is not a part of cave development. Entrances develop later as the down-wasting of the landscape dissects and truncates the cave system.
Tunnels - Passages that vary from elliptical tubes to more complex shapes based on the characteristics of the bedrock.
Terminations - Truncated tunnels formed when rocks collapse.
Vertical Features - These occur as shafts or chimneys, which are joints/fissures widened by solution of the limestone.
Rooms - These are formed by intersection of several passages, or solutional process widening passages. This cave has five rooms ... Ball Room / Square Room / Hanging Forest / Hall of Statues / Upper Room
White Streaks - These streaks are the result of calcite filling the cracks in the limestone. This process strengthens the cave allowing it to endure.
SPELEOTHEMS - DO NOT TOUCH
Speleothems are calcium deposits. The oil in your skin prevents the chemical reaction that deposits the calcium. Touching the formations prevents their growth, thus killing them.
Stalactites - Formations that are fed by more than one drip point, and grow from the ceiling.
Stalagmites - Formations formed from water dripping to the floor, and grow upwards.
Bacon - Water that trails along the underside of ledges. The growth layers are linear and look like a relatively flat stalactite.
Bagel - Water drips into the center and splashes up onto the rim where it evaporates.
Coral - Little bubbles of rock.
Drapery - Water flowing over the outside that builds up ribs and folds.
Dripstone - Formed from dripping water.
Flowstone - Formed from flowing water. Has the appearance of a large waterfall of rock.
Helictite - A rare formation when water pushes through the limestone rock carrying calcium with it. They look like a finger and can twist to look like a pretzel.
Soda Straw - Water dripping from the ceiling and hanging for a short time. A small amount of mineral matter is deposited in a ring with a diameter similar to that of the drop.
ROCK-WATER RELATIONSHIP
Water is necessary for speleothems to form. The nature of the cave formation depends on whether the water drips, seeps, condenses, flows, or ponds.
RESOURCES
http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/pennsylvania/pa-caves/
http://www.woodwardcave.com/home.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20071215195313/http://www.mostateparks.com/onondaga/speleothems.htm
http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/showcave.html
PA CAVES - DCNR General Geology Reports G066/G067 http://www.docs.dcnr.pa.gov/topogeo/publications/pgspub/general/index.htm