Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1977, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: History

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2012, 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 souther (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ira Sasowsky Dr. (Advisor); John Senko Dr. (Committee Member); W. Ashley Griffith Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Geomorphology

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2007, Geology

Hellhole is an extensive (32 kilometer) cave system developed within Germany Valley (Pendleton County, West Virginia) on the flank of the Wills Mountain Anticline. The area can be described as a mature karst aquifer on the transitional margin of the Appalachian Plateau and Valley and Ridge physiographic provinces. Hellhole is the most extensive and deepest (158 meters) of several mapped caves in the area (others include Memorial Day Cave and Schoolhouse Cave). The upper bounding lithology is the McGlone Limestone. The cave penetrates through the Big Valley Formation and in to the New Market Limestone, a high purity unit that is mined locally. Faulting and folding are prominently exposed in several passages, but did not affect passage development in a noticeable way. The entrance sinkhole opens in to a large room, however, the morphology of the room suggests that the room formed the entrance by the intersection of passages followed by a vertical shaft intersecting from the surface. Passage orientation and strike of the bedrock are nearly identical (N25°E). Lower passages are generally down dip from upper (older) passages. Cave sediment and paleomagnetic analysis reveals that the minimum age of sediments analyzed are 1.070 million years old. Three hundred measurements of wall scallops show that paleowaters in the Western section flowed southwest (1.1 cubic meters per second). Paleoflow from the Southern portion of the cave flowed northward (0.94 meters cubic meters per second), and flow in the Northern section flowed southward (1.0 cubic meters per second). Most passages are 50 to 100 meters below the present land surface. Most of the cave appears to have formed under phreatic conditions, but the presence of thick clastic sediments in some locations attests to vadose invasion.

Committee: Ira Sasowsky (Advisor) Subjects: Geology