Falling Spring Falls

Just a few miles down the road from Westvaco (Friday's post) is Falling Spring Falls. This was a surprise to find! I read that this is rare type of fall for Virginia where most falls are cascades and slides.

Information from the Virginia State Parks website:
Located in Alleghany County on the Jackson River, this stream rises from Warm River Cave approximately one mile north. Warm thermal spring water and a cold stream of shallow groundwater mix in the cave before surfacing as Falling Spring Falls. The water is supersaturated with carbonate that forms travertine, a form of limestone, at the base of the waterfall.

Underneath the 80 foot drop from the Falling Spring Falls is an undercut cliff. The constantly wet rock faces within the spray or splash zone of the falling water creates a moist microhabitat called a spray cliff community.

Spray cliff communities on limestone in Virginia are considered rare. This area features 14 bryophyte or moss species.
Informational sign at Falling Spring Falls overlooking the falls. This sign has information about the botany of the falls.
According to the book, “Historical Sketches of the Alleghany Highlands” by Gay Arritt, 82 acres of land including the Falling Spring Falls was granted by King George III of Great Britain to Gabriel Jones in August 1771. In 1780 Thomas Jefferson, as Governor of Virginia, granted the property to Major Thomas Massie.

This site was once visited by Jefferson to survey the falls and he mentions it in his manuscripts “Notes on the State of Virginia” written in 1781.

“The only remarkable cascade in this country is that of the Falling Spring in Augusta,” wrote Jefferson, “…it falls over a rock 200 feet into the valley below.”

From 1914 to 1926 a producer of travertine material, Ohio C. Barber Fertilizer Company, mined fertilizer in Barber, Virginia, now called Falling Spring. In 1927 Falling Spring Lime Company assumed operations until 1941. Mining operations necessitated the relocation of the falls where it now plunges only 80 feet.

Electricity generated from the falls was used to run the lime crushing plant and to operate an electric railway hauling travertine from the mine.

On November 28, 2004, Mead Westvaco donated the Falling Spring Falls and approximately 19 surrounding acres to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Also read somewhere else that the fall is beautiful when frozen. I'll have to see that!

SkyWatch Friday

Heading into Covington, in search of the covered bridge, we came upon this ginormous plant, Westvaco. We didn't know what it was at the time but the place is huge. So of course I had to google it when I came home (what would we do without Google?).

Turns out this is the Mead/Westvaco paper mill. The Covington Mill is one of the most technologically advanced bleached paperboard manufacturing facilities in the world. The mill stretches 1.5 miles along the Jackson River and employs about 1,500 people. It produces more than 2,500 tons of bleached paper and paperboard each day and exports its products to more than 60 countries. This facility manufactures paperboard used for premium folding cartons, for aseptic and other liquid packaging and for printing applications that include books, greeting cards and sports cards.

According to their website, they state that their Pollution Prevention Program is always looking for new ways to reduce emissions into the air, land and water and lessen the impact of its operations on the environment, employees and community.

By the looks of those plumes of smoke going into our atmosphere, they have their job cut out for them.

Any Black Friday shoppers out there? Did you get a good deal? I've never attacked the stores at dawn on Black Friday, in fact I stay as far away from any type store today! And did I hear that Toys R Us even opened earlier this year? At midnight? I think this whole Black Friday deal is getting way out of control. I wonder if other countries do this or if it's just American greed?

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Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours! If you're traveling, be careful!

Photo taken in Eagle Rock.

Roaring Run Furnace

At the tail end of our hike to the falls, we came upon the Roaring Run Furnace. The first mention of the furnace is in a deed dated May 1, 1838. It is believed the furnace went into blast that year and also believed that its final blast was early in April of 1865, prior to the end of the Civil War in April. No other evidence suggests that the furnace went into blast again.

For a more detailed account of the furnace, visit US Forest Service

Roaring Run Falls

Sunday we dodged some rain that was predicted in our forecast so we pulled out my new book that I told you about, Historic Virginia by Emily and John Salmon.

We decided to go see the Humpback Bridge in Alleghany County. According to my book, the Humpback Bridge is the last surviving curved-span bridge in the US AND the oldest covered bridge in Virginia, completed in 1857.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see the bridge (sorry no pics this time!) because we decided to stop at Roaring Run Recreational Area, on the farthest edge of Botetourt County, along the way. Roaring Run creek is well known for its trout fishing. We decided to take the short hike (less than a mile) up to the falls. It was a pretty easy walk and well worth it! The trail loops around past the furnaces (used to make iron in the mid 1800's) and ended at the picnic tables that are placed along the creek. There we sat and ate our picnic lunch and relaxed a bit before heading towards the covered bridge in Covington. With the days shorter, we ended up running out of sunlight before we could find it, but we did find a huge waterfall, Falling Springs, which I'll show you later this week!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Remember my Skywatch photo from Friday? This is the exact same location, only 24 hours later!

SkyWatch Friday

This area is known for it's natural beauty and one thing that always steals my attention is the way the clouds envelop the mountain tops after a rain. You can't see where the mountains end and the sky begins. This is the way it looks right now after having a full day of rain. Tomorrow blue skies are in our forecast!

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