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Speleogenesis of Shoveleater Cave, Pendleton County, West Virginia

Harman, Gayle E.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1354816123

Abstract Details

2012, Master of Science, University of Akron, Geology.
Shoveleater Cave of the Hellhole System is located in Germany Valley, Pendleton County, West Virginia. The Wills Mountain Anticline is breached here, exposing Ordovician limestones. Although currently dry, Shoveleater Cave retains evidence of its genesis and history that can help develop a thorough understanding of karst, both past and present in Germany Valley. This study investigated structural controls of cave formation, present day hydrology, and paleohydrology. It was hypothesized that the development of the vertical shafts of Shoveleater Cave is controlled by fracturing of the rock that hosts the cave. This was explored by comparing the locations of shafts with fractures measured in the field or found through aerial photography interpretation. Shafts coincided with fracturing in two cases. Bedding and fracture measurements taken in and above the cave were compared to the orientations of cave passages. Statistically, two times more passage length was bedding-controlled than fracture-controlled. It was hypothesized that the existence of a kink in the Wills Mountain Anticline is responsible for fracturing the rock that hosts Shoveleater Cave. Bedding was measured along the anticline limbs to determine if a bend in the ridge line of North Fork Mountain, which bounds Germany Valley to the east, was evidence of a structural kink in the anticline. A minor change in bedding strike near the bend did not account for the 9° horizontal bend in the ridge line. Instead, a slight change in bedding strike and dip, due to the anticline plunging at both ends of Germany Valley, caused inconsistent erosion of the ridge line. Dip was steeper to the north, possibly resulting in differential weathering along the ridge line. The present hydrology in Germany Valley precludes Shoveleater Cave from receiving allogenic recharge. Surface streams sink into swallets feeding Silent Stream of Hellhole prior to reaching Shoveleater Cave. It was hypothesized that paleo water flow in the southern portion of Shoveleater Cave resurged at Judy Spring by way of Silent Stream of the Southern Extension of Hellhole. Analysis of scallops and passage morphology produced an interpretation of the paleohydrology from when the cave was actively forming. Scallop surveys determined that recharge during the phreatic stage came from the northeast, northwest and southwest, converged in Hellhole Hall at the center of the cave, and then flowed southeast, exiting the cave. Paleoflow was toward Silent Stream of Hellhole, but at a higher elevation than the stream. It is unknown whether the water in Shoveleater Cave flowed to Judy Spring. Phreatic flow averaging 6 cm/s formed the main branches of the cave, which cut through bedding to create a level at 678 m elevation. Recharge also entered the main southwest branches from below, creating hemispherical chambers in a east-west trending passage and an ascending channel connecting to the main branch above. Vadose infiltration did little to modify the main branches, except in the southeast branch where a large canyon dissects the usually level passage. A vadose canyon connected to the northeastern branch meanders down bedding dip. The vadose passage contains euhedral quartz crystals, which may be evidence of hypogene development. Today the water table is 140 m lower than during the formation of the main branches of the cave. Base level in the valley is controlled by the elevation of Judy Spring, which is currently at the base of the central water gap of Germany Valley.
Ira Sasowsky, Dr. (Advisor)
John Senko, Dr. (Committee Member)
W. Ashley Griffith, Dr. (Committee Member)
119 p.
Geology; Geomorphology
Shoveleater Cave; Germany Valley, West Virginia; Paleohydrology; scallops; Wills Mountain Anticline; Pendleton County, West Vriginia

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Harman, G. E. (2012). Speleogenesis of Shoveleater Cave, Pendleton County, West Virginia [Master's thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1354816123

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Harman, Gayle. Speleogenesis of Shoveleater Cave, Pendleton County, West Virginia. 2012. University of Akron, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1354816123.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Harman, Gayle. "Speleogenesis of Shoveleater Cave, Pendleton County, West Virginia." Master's thesis, University of Akron, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1354816123

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.