Conkles+Hollow+State+Nature+Preserve

Also, see Hocking Hills Important Bird Area and Hocking County Birding Drive
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Hocking County
=Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve= 24858 Big Pine Road Rockbridge, Ohio 43149 Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve webpage Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve brochure and trail map Athens Area Outdoor Recreation Guide Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve Conkles Hollow from Jim McCormac's blog

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Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve
Coordinates: 39.4545104, -82.5746053 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve

 * Spectacular sandstone gorge with excellent vistas
 * Spring wildflowers and fern communities
 * Parking lot, restrooms and 3.5-mile trail system are available.
 * The Lower Gorge Trail is a 1-mile handicapped-accessible trail.
 * No pets allowed

Conkles Hollow is one of the most spectacular features within the Hocking Hills region. Its sheer cliffs of Black Hand sandstone rise nearly 200 feet above the valley floor. The deep, cool gorge, which is only 100 feet wide in places and is considered by some to be the deepest in Ohio, has numerous waterfalls cascading over its sandstone cliffs. The Lower Gorge trail was recently redesigned to accommodate visitors of all abilities.

The cliff tops with their magnificent overlooks and the quiet gorge beneath offer visitors an opportunity to explore different habitats, each with its own unique plant and animal communities.

About 350 million years ago, this portion of Ohio lay under the waters of a vast inland ocean. Rivers flowing into this ancient sea carried coarse and fine-grained sands, depositing them in large wide deltas much like the present day delta at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Over millions of years, these sand deltas were buried by finer textured silt and clay sediments. Eventually, these sedimentary deposits were compressed to form a thick hard layer of sandy textured rock, now referred to as Black Hand sandstone.

Great forces of energy within the earth caused the land surface to gradually rise, eventually forming the present Appalachian Mountains. As the ocean waters drained away, the new land surface dried out and became subject to the erosional processes of surface water and climatic extremes.

The newly exposed sediments were weathered away, layer by layer, and washed onto some distant river delta. Today Black Hand sandstone layers are the uppermost of these past sediments and they, in turn, are being acted upon by erosional forces.

Conkles Hollow was purchased in 1925 by the state of Ohio in order to preserve its scenic beauty. In 1977, the site was dedicated as a state nature preserve. From Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve webpage



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media type="custom" key="25978186" || L374063 US US-OH US-OH-073 39.4545104 -82.5746053 Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve