Carter Cave Box Canyon - Carter Caves SP, KY, US - Places of Geologic Significance on Waymarking.com

Box Canyon is a karst solution valley which represents a large, collapsed trunk cave, and many of the caves that occur in the walls of this valley probably represent uncollapsed parts of the system that originally entered the main trunk cave.


The Box Canyon valley is floored with Slade Formation limestones and is pockmarked with sink holes due to solution of the limestones, giving the valley bottom a hummocky appearance. Box Canyon valley is largely a dry bed, because most of the drainage enters the subsurface through the many sinks in the valley.


The wall of sandstone looming above us is the Carter Caves Sandstone, a Mississippian sandstone that is more than 100 ft. thick. The Carter Caves Sandstone is a body of sandstone that extends nearly north-south for 14 mi. The sandstone is more resistant to weathering and erosion processes, and hence forms large, bold, steep exposures like those seen at the head of the valley. The steep walls of the canyon are over 60 ft. high and in places meet at a nearly perfect 90° angle.


The square corners and high vertical cliffs result from collapse of the sandstone along two sets of intersecting joints. The floor of the canyon is covered by large blocks of fallen sandstone from this unit. The Carter Caves sandstone is a white to very light gray sandstone that is typically a fine- to medium-grained and sparsely conglomeratic. Pebbles can range up to ½ inch in diameter and usually consist of milky quart

Waymark is confirmed to be publicly accessible: yes Parking Coordinates: N 38° 21.342 W 083° 06.702 Access fee (In local currency): .00 Requires a high clearance vehicle to visit.: no Requires 4x4 vehicle to visit.: no Public Transport available: no Website reference: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/04/2017 Crazy4horses visited it