Natural Areas of Eastern Pennsylvania

  Luzerne County –  Ricketts Glenn State

park –  Seven Tubs Natural

Area –  Nuangola Preserve –  Susquehanna River

lands   Lackawanna

County –  Archibald Pothole

  Carbon County –  Hickory Run State

Park   Monroe County

–  Tannersville Cranberry Bog

–  Devil’s Hole

Luzerne County

Ricketts Glenn State Park

  Series of 22 waterfalls that cascade down to the valley floor

  Waterfalls tumble down the Allegany front   15000 yrs ago the Wisconsinan Continental

glacier formed the water falls.   Falls range from 11 ft. - 94 ft. high   Each is unique but can be classified as

“wedding cake” or “bridal veil” types.

  The area is comprised of sandstones, red & gray shales, & conglomerates.

  Along the Red Rock Mountains you may find ancient lungfish that burrowed themselves in the mud during dry periods millions of years ago & became fossilized.

Bridal Veil

Wedding Cake

Seven Tubs Natural Area

  Melt water pouring over the area 12000 yrs ago, gouged a line of smooth tubs in the gritty sandstone.

  The Wisconsinan glacier covered this area with a sheet of ice.

  When it began to melt, large amounts of swirling water currents rushed into cracks in the bedrock creating potholes in 350 million year old sandstone & conglomerate rock.

Speculation

  Some scientists believe that the area was not influenced by a glacier, but from stream currents.

Nuangola Bog Natural Preserve   Nuangola Lake was born from a chunk

of glacial ice. (Wisconsinan) 12000 years ago

  Today thick mats of floating Sphagnum moss have transformed the southern tip of the lake into a bog* baring plants that have adapted to a harsh acidic habitat.

  Scientists believed that the lake had once held 4 times more the volume of water then it now holds.

Sphagnum Moss

*bog

  Generally a plant community that thrives in wet acidic conditions. The decomposition rate is very slow and harbors many types of insectivorous plants.

Susquehanna River lands   Ranging from upstream of Wilkes-

Barre to south of Nanticoke.   This area of Pennsylvania was once

underwater between 65 - 135 millions of years ago. Sediments had settled and covered an existing valley.

  Once the water had begun to recede several streams began draining the area.

  They had joined together forming 1 major stream (Susquehanna)

  The river had uplifted the surrounding plain and cut a path through the area.

  In the act of “stream piracy” area streams north of the area had created a major river called the Susquehanna.

  It begins in Cooperstown, NY and flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

  It was influenced by the Illinoisan (350,000 -550,000 yrs ago) and the Wisconsinan (12,500 - 22,000 yrs ago) glacier.

  Coal miners had found that there was a sturdy safe layer of rock above coal in our area. People were able to build houses and roads above the mines.

  However in areas below the river rock wasn’t as stable. Many workers died in the mines when coal was extracted from mines below the river in the Nanticoke area.

Lackawanna

Archbald Pothole   Formed from a torrent of water

tumbling 200 ft. down a glacial crevasse.

  This current stirred rocks and pebbles at the bottom scooping THE DEEPEST POTHOLE IN THE WORLD.

  Potholes are round holes scored into the bedrock, usually deeper than their diameters.

  The Arichbald pothole formed either near the edge or in a crack of of the Wisconsinan glacier 15,000 - 18,000 yrs ago.

  The bedrock surrounding the hole is coal on the bottom and sandstone on the top.

  The hole is flowerpot shaped, with the top larger that the bottom & the walls are ribbed from the currents.

  Coalminers have spoken of another hole approximately 100 yards away from the original.

  Today this hole is either hidden or destroyed by road construction, strip mining, or other human disturbances.

Carbon County

Hickory Run State Park   18,000 - 20,000 yrs ago a finger of the

Wisconsinan glacier had stopped over this area in idle for several hundred years.

  This caused a ridge of loose rock, gravel, sand & silt to build up.

  As the ice melted much of the silt & sand washed away leaving behind large boulders, known as Boulder field.

  Fossils from the Devonian period can be found there.

future

  The boulder field is relatively young, 20,000 yrs.

  Eventually the boulders will be pulverized by weathering & erosion into powder.

  A forest will emerge one day in its place.

Monroe County

Tannersville Cranberry Bog   An unusual habitat, 300 yr old trees are

only 40 ft tall, plants eat insects because the water holds little nourishment.

  The bog formed around 12,000 - 16,000 yrs ago by the Wisconsinan glacier.

  As the glacier receded it formed depressions in the land, ice had broken off, melted & formed the bog.

  Technically, the bog is not a traditional textbook bog, it is an ACID FEN. A fen is refreshed & flushed by flowing water or a spring.

  In this case the fen in Tannersville is refreshed by groundwater.

Pitcher Plant

Sundew

Bog Rosemary

Tannersville tid-bits   Tannersville was named because of the

high amounts of tannic acid bound in its water.

  Tannic acid is formed from decomposing vegetation such as moss or dead tree leaves.

  The early settlers knew this & began preserving their animal skins in the streams to make leather for clothing.

  Their occupations of trade became known as tanners.

Devil’s Hole   Standing atop of the canyon, the wind

produces hellish, eerie sounds, similar to moans & groans, hoots & howls.

  Local folk lore say that it is the barks of Satan himself.

  They believe that the gorge conceals a hole to Satan’s dungeon.

  Others say it is the moans of 19th century stonecutters who struggled in the surrounding quarries. (or it just be the sound of wind blowing through the gorge)

  The pothole lies near the edge of the Pocono Plateau.

  Many streams run through & near the area creating the gorge.

  The surrounding areas were uplifted from past continental collisions millions of years ago.

  The hole itself was formed 10,000 - 15,000 yrs ago as the Wisconsinan glacier retreated northward.

  Torrents of melt water formed a stream strong enough to carry gravel & rocks over the edge forming a waterfall.

  Beneath the waterfall the swirling currents of water drilled a hole through the bedrock.

Roadside Sites

Route 6

Pikes Creek Gorge “Grand Canyon of PA”

  Located along a 13-mile drive between Mansfield & Wellsboro this gorge can be found.

  A stream was influenced by melt water by the Wisconsinan glacier

  There was also an existing stream in the area before the glacier was present.

Appalachian Trail

  Along the way, the trail passes through the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Facts Length: Approx. 2181 mi

Location: Appalachian Mountains

Trailheads: Springer Mountain, Georgia� Mount Katahdin, Maine

Hazards Severe weather American Black Bear Tick-borne diseases Mosquitos Biting flies Chiggers Steep grades Limited water Diarrhea from water Poison ivy Venomous snakes

Info Thru hiker: a hiker who attempts to hike the entire trail In one season

Most begin in Georgia start in April

South bounder: The few that begin in Maine…Generally finish just after Thanksgiving

Takes roughly 6 months.

Pack light! Plenty of stops along the way.