Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Not The Kind Of Pothole That You Think


Thank you Susan from A Southern Daydreamer for hosting this Outdoor Wednesday. Below are a few pictures from our visit to High Falls Gorge in Wilmington, NY. While on our hike along the gorge we saw beautiful trees, flowers, wildlife and rock. We even saw potholes. Not the kind of potholes we are accustom to in the Northeast from plows and salt trucks removing snow off the roads. The potholes at the gorge were formed over long periods of time by a whirlpool along the shore of a fast flowing stream. At first...the sand carried by the water will slowly grind away the rock until a small hole is formed. As the hole grows in depth and size...it is able to trap larger pebbles. These in turn continue to grind away at the rock. Eventually...the hole is big enough to trap larger stones. If the water flow is fast enough these will swirl around until they also become round as they grind away at the sides and the bottom of these holes. Click on the images to get a closer look.


Maddie, Christina and me on the trails. Notice we have our jackets on. It has been a cool and wet summer in the East. Can you see the moss on the walls and the cedar tree branches?


Over 600 feet of fierce falls. Notice the trails extends over and from the sides of the gorge.



A visual on how a pothole is formed.




Some of the potholes I took a picture of. Look how round they are. Click on to the picture to get a closer look.

3 comments:

stefanie said...

wow, that is so interesting, that path looks a little scary, but what beautiful country, looks like you had a great time.

Pam said...

That is very interesting. I had never heard of these kinds of potholes before. I would have loved to hike on that path.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

How interesting! What a wonderful hike! I would love to do something like that.
I can honestly say...I am longing for some adventure... :) Cabin fever is beginning to set in...which is a good sign they say! Thank you for sharing your trip with us!