The Road Trips

Ohio, Hocking Hills State Park — Ash Cave

Ash Cave is the largest recessed cave east of the Mississippi. It is not a true cave, but what geologists call a rock shelter. Its Black Hand Sandstone walls contain stories of the glacial past. Thin lines layered throughout called cross-bedding are evidence of ancient migrating ripples or dunes that show how sediment moved over time. It contains quartz pebbles and sand with features, including a conglomeratic quartz sandstone. Freezing and thawing expands the frozen water in the rock and over time this frost wedging creates the sandy floor. In the center of the gorge, trees, moss, and plants grow from an ancient mound of ash that is thought to have been created by early Native American peoples.

My interest in Ash Cave and the Hocking Hills State Park area is the unique biodiversity created by the sloped land, recessed caves, gorges and open sunlit areas, waterfalls, seeps, and acidic soil. An abundance of mosses and liverworts, lichen, ferns, and spleenworts can be easily seen on the rock shelter, behind the waterfall, and from the trail in the surrounding foliage.