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