rich creek cave map - dirtbagdiver.files.wordpress.com · datum pond 7 concrete slabs entrance...

Datum

Pond7

Concrete Slabs

Entrance

Plywood Board Dam

Ear Dip; 2 inches of air

Woods

Woods

Cinder-Block Wall

23

3

1

.25

2

1

66

43 12

2 6 2

2 4

3

92

7

3

.25

38

0

4

4

12

19

16

162

5 16

2

17

9

9

9

6

4

9

9

86

164

73

5

1228 4 13

8

2

33

5

?

?

35

50

3 30.25

0 1 13 4

20

3

191

Clay Cobbles6 3

8

71

81

5 0

26

181 1

2 10

.5

Folded Chert Beds in Ceiling

30

5

Sloping Chert Ledges

2

4

30

5

6

?

1

3

204.5

7

7

22 2

1

11

?

Sump

The Unexpected Room

Belly Dip 1 2

Grate with a tiny cave opening

A

B

C

E

F

G

H

J

K

L

M

D1

A B C D E

FG H

J L

M

Flowstone WallSloping (and Slippery)Chert Ledges

Sump

The Unexpected Room

Cross-Sections:

Legend:

Ceiling Height

Pit Depth

Elevation above Datum

Elevation below Datum

Water Depth

Change in Ceiling Height (lower ceiling to left)

Floor Drop-o� (lower �oor to right)

Slope (lower side to left)

Breakdown

Sand and Gravel Floor

Water

Water Flow

Indeterminate Wall (or passage too tiny to follow)

Upper-Level Passage

Lower-Level Passage

Stalagmite

Stalactite

Soda Straws

Flowstone

Large Broken-O� Stalagmite

5

3

4

2

3

TN

MN

8.2° WestSept 2017

0 40 80

FEET

Rich Creek CaveMonroe CountyWest Virginia

37° 24’ 54” North Latitude; 80° 42’ 05” West Longitude

Rich Creek Cave is 1,607.2 feet (0.3 miles) long. It has a depth of 54 feet, but there was a dome (in the Unexpected Room), the bottom of which was not climbed to, and thus the entire depth of the cave is much greater than 54 feet.

The cave was mapped on September 20th and 26th, 2017 by Dave Socky, Je� Hajenga, Nick Schaer, and George Dasher using two DistoX2s.

Rich Creek Cave is very near the contact between the Beekmantown and Saint Paul Groups. The front part of the cave may be formed in the limestones, dolomites, and cherts of the Beekman-town, while the back part of the cave may be formed in the New Market Limestone, which is here the basal member of the Saint Paul Group. The strata dips at about 30° to the southeast.

No dye trace has been completed to determine the origin of the water in Rich Creek Cave. This water, once it emerges from the cave, feeds a large trout �sh hatchery immediately downstream of the cave. The volume of water emerging from the cave entrance on a low-�ow day is estimated (guessed at) to be around 3,000 gallons per minute.

The data was processed and the working and �nal maps were drawn by George Dasher (NSS 16643).

Dip CeilingDip Ceiling

Dip Ceiling

5 .25

Upper Level

Pretty Wet Section

Pretty Wet Section

.5

33

K