The Blowing Rock Sandra Bright Course #75T01

Class, we’ll be taking a field trip to a place that was once called the “Blowing Rock”. Before we go on our field trip, I’d like to give you some background information. First, I’d like to take you back in time… … back to an era when no white man roamed these parts, before any human form appeared, before this land had even risen from the sea…

6 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period of Earth’s history, the Atlantic Ocean covered our part of the world. Corals, sponges, shellfish, and snails were plentiful. As they died off, the bottom of the sea became littered with empty shells and fine particles of dirt. These piled up, got denser and heavier, and finally, the matter on the bottom became limestone.

Millions of years passed. North America rose out of the sea. Rain fell then, as it does now, and will forever. When rain mixes with carbon dioxide, something interesting happens… You see, limestone is a soft rock. Oh, I know, all rock feels hard. But limestone is soft enough to dissolve in acidic water, which is what water mixed with carbon dioxide is. And acidic water dissolves limestone. Have you ever mixed sugar with water? You can see the sugar dissolve. It seems to disappear. That’s what it’s like with the limestone, only it takes lots longer. Instead of seconds, it takes thousands of years for enough limestone to dissolve for you to even notice. In fact, its takes hundreds of thousands of years to dissolve enough rock to make room for a human! So, back in that place that used to be under the sea, and was now under ground, water moving over the limestone started to dissolve the rock. And, eventually, over a VERY long period of time, it dissolved enough to create a whole network of caves and tunnels. Cross-section of what a limestone cave might look like To learn more about how caves form, watch this Discovery video:

Fast forward to the 1700s… In the 1700s, Native Americans in New York spoke of “Otsgaragee”, meaning “Cave of the Great Galleries.” Legend spoke of a blowing rock, a strange, stony ledge that sent a cool wind on the hottest of days. No one knew exactly where it was.

Lester and Lucinda Howe moved to the area in the 1800s, settling on a farm near Cobleskill, NY. Lester was fascinated by the story of “Blowing Rock.” There are several stories about how he finally found this mysterious place. One story tells of how he noticed that all of his cows would hang around the same spot on a field. Exploring that area, he felt a cool breeze coming from the earth, and knew he had finally discovered “Blowing Rock.” This “Blowing Rock” was really the entrance to a cave. On further exploration, Lester discovered a whole network of caves and tunnels reaching 156 feet below the surface of the ground. Fast forward again, about a hundred years… For more stories about the discovery of the cave, visit systems-of-new-yorks-schoharie-county.htmlhttp:// systems-of-new-yorks-schoharie-county.html Lester Howe

Lester purchased the land above the cave. He then set about developing the cave, making it ready for visitors. Part of the cave before Lester had a walkway built

He opened Howe’s Cave in Visitors paid 50 cents for a torch-lit tour that lasted eight to ten hours. The cave climate was not the most comfortable; it was damp, muddy, and cool, about 52 degrees year-round. Lester provided visitors with clothing to make their tour more pleasant. An early Howe Caverns brochure

Lester stands by the entrance to the cave. Inside the cave

Old postcards of the cavern

Now known as Howe Caverns, it remains a popular destination for tourists. It’s the largest cave in the northeast that is opened to the public. A sketch of Howe’s Cave Fast forward to today…

Howe’s Caverns… Now that you’ve seen what the cave was like in Lester’s day, let’s go see what Howe Caverns is like today. Before we go, are you dressed for it? Remember, it’ll be a bit chilly down there, around 52°. Kind of damp, too. Lester isn’t around to give us the proper clothing, so make sure you’re wearing good shoes and warm clothes. Don’t worry about bringing a torch… they do have more modern conveniences now! Ready? Let’s go!

There’s the visitor center. I wonder if Lester would be surprised to see how big and modern it is?

As we go through the vestibule, stop and take a look at this graphic. We won’t be going through the “Blowing Rock” entrance to the cave. Instead, we’ll take an elevator down. You can see the elevator shaft on the left. Let’s go!

Here we are. Let’s begin our tour! This part of the cavern is pretty open, and very well-lit. This rock formation is called the "Pipe Organ. Can you figure out why? As we walk through, please don’t touch any of the rock formations. Some are fragile; others are still growing, and any dirt or oil from your hands could damage the rock.

Ooh, they changed the lighting. It looks so pretty! Many years ago, some souvenir hunters broke off some of the stalactites of this rock formation. This opened some natural holes in the rock formation. As a result, if you hum into one part of the “Pipe Organ”, sound resonates within it, adding to the mysterious atmosphere in the cave.

As we move along the walkway, we’ll see many interesting rock formations. Theses are created by mineral deposits left behind by flowing water. These formations are called "flow rock".

This is called Titan's Temple. We’ve come down a ways. From here you can look back at the walkway. Imagine what this tour was like before they built it. Would you have liked to have been here two hundred years ago, without walkways, without lights?

Here’s a graphic representation of the rocks, making it easier to see them! The Two Witches of the Grotto  Can you see two faces in the rock? This one would be spooky in the dark! Imagine seeing this with only the flickering light of a torch!

 This is one of my favorite formations, the Chinese Pagoda. Notice the layers, and the flow pattern of the rock. Compare the rock with this picture of a real Chinese pagoda, and you can see where this stalagmite got its name! Stalagmites and stalactites only grow about an inch in 100 years. This one is 11 feet, 4 inches tall. Can you figure out how long it has been growing?

We’ve come to an area called the Bridal Alter. Our guide dims the overhead lights so we can appreciate the ambience of this part of the cave. The heart on the floor is made from a piece of calcite found elsewhere in the cave, and is lit from below. More than 600 couples have chosen to “tie the knot” here, far underground. The Bridal Altar

Here are some more interesting rock formations.  Is this rock formation a stalagmite or a stalactite? a) stalagmitestalagmite b) stalactitestalactite

Uh, oh… looks like someone just got dripped on! That’s a good thing! According to cave lore, it's good luck to get "kissed" by the cave.

These are strange shapes. I wonder how the water was flowing to create these shell-shaped objects?

We’ve come to the end of dry land… or should I say, damp cave floor. We’ve reached the “Lake of Venus.” We’ll go by boat from here. How do you think they got these boats down here? They’re too big for the elevator! Ah, the guide says they brought the parts down, and put the boat together down here!

A boat ride on the Lake of Venus This ancient river began carving the cavern six million years ago!

We're nearly at the end of our tour. Our final walk takes us through the "Winding Way." The ceiling is high, but the walls are pretty close together! It's kind of like being in a maze. Don't worry, though... there's only one way out, so we can't get lost!

I hope you enjoyed your tour of Howe Caverns. If you want to come back another time, you could take a "Lantern Tour."

Or, if you’re up for it, you could take the “Adventure Tour”. Explore the Mystery Passage and the Great Rotunda. It would require some spelunking, though!

No, it is a stalactite. For a hint on how to remember which is which, and to find out how to create your own stalagmites and stalactites, visit ks.com/family/nature- activities-for-kids1.htm ks.com/family/nature- activities-for-kids1.htm For some fascinating facts about rocks in general, go to logue4kids/season11/g eology/facts.cfm logue4kids/season11/g eology/facts.cfm Click to go back to the previous slide.

Yes, it is a stalactite. For a hint on how to remember which is which, and to find out how to create your own stalagmites and stalactites, visit ature-activities-for-kids1.htm ature-activities-for-kids1.htm For some fascinating facts about rocks in general, go to son11/geology/facts.cfm son11/geology/facts.cfm Click to go back to the previous slide.

That concludes our tour. If you enjoyed that, you might want to visit these websites to find out more about caves. The Virtual Cave The Cavern Systems of New York’s Schoharie County Journey into Caves National Geographic Kids Cave Exploration.

Resources The Cavern Systems of New York’s Schoharie County. Retrieved Northrup, Diana; Montoya, Tamara (n.d.). Journey into Caves. Retrieved National Geographic (2012). Cave Exploration. Retrieved Discovery News (Dec. 22, 2008). Earth: The Skinny on Cave Formations. Retrieved Editors of Publications International, Ltd., How Stuff Works (2012). Retrieved Idaho Public Television (2012). Geology Facts. Retrieved Bewley, D., Bunnell, D. (June 19, 1995). The Virtual Cave. Retrieved Beckius, K.K. (2005). A Photo Tour of Howe Caverns. Retrieved Click to go back to the beginning.