REMARKS: A 600-foot vertical cliff of Pocono conglomerate (Mississippian age) is exposed in the water gap.
The L-shaped cliff is unusual and may have been formed by the Susquehanna River at a former elevation and earlier geologic time. This feature was known as Dial Rock. A rock projection on the cliff faces southwest, and the indians learned that when the sun touched the rock it was noon. Settlers in the valley also used the Indians' timepiece.
REFERENCE: Faris, J. T. [1919], Seeing Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company, 350 p.
REMARKS: A high bluff overlooking the Susquehanna River. The site has been developed as an overlook and the area from the overlook to the base of the cliff has been designated as a natural area. Mudstones and siltstones of the Trimmers Rock Formation(Devonian age) form the scenic cliff.
REMARKS: Headward erosion by a small stream on the north flank of Green Mountain has created a narrow, steep-sided valley on the mountain. The stream is eroding soft shales and siltstones of the Mauch Chunk Formation (Mississippian age) at the base and on the slope. Outcrops of Pottsville conglomerate (Pennsylvanian age) are exposed on the rim of the canyon.
REMARKS: The Kitchen Creek Gorge crosses the Allegheny Front, where Kitchen Creek descends 1000 feet in about 3 miles over 25 waterfalls. Kitchen Creek Falls (72) (called Adams Falls on the trail) is the largest and most spectacular. This gorge is a National Natural Landmark.
The next gorge to the west, Fishing Creek Gorge (73) (Sullivan County), is equally picturesque; Lewis Falls (74) and Twin Falls (75) are found there. Nearby, Chimneystack Rock (76) (Columbia County) marks the rim of the Allegheny Front 3 miles west of Ricketts Glen State Park.
REMARKS: One of the prime natural areas of eastern Pennsylvania; it is wild and remote. The gorge is extremely rugged and has a very precipitous east wall near Jim Thorpe; Glen Onoko (243) is a steep-walled canyon of uncut timber and spectacular waterfalls.
REFERENCE: Epstein, J. B., Sevon, W. D., and Glaeser, J. D. [1974], Geology and mineral resources of the Lehighton and Palmerton quadrangles, Carbon and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th ser., Atlas 195cd, 460 p.
Pennsylvania Geology [1969], Lehigh River Gorge State Park, v.1, no. 2, p. 11.
Sevon, W. D. [1975], Geology and mineral resources of the Hickory Run and Blakeslee quadrangles, Carbon and Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th ser., Atlas 194cd.
REMARKS: Whirlpool Canyon contains a series of seven glacial potholes in the channel of Wheelbarrow Run. They were formed during the Pleistocene Epoch (10,000 years ago) when a meltwater stream flowing through the glacier plunged over the front edge of the ice or over an ice cliff within the glacier. The volume of meltwater, hydrostatic pressure, and abrasive action of rock fragments etched tub-like potholes up to 30 feet across and 20 feet deep in the sandstone and conglomerate of the Pocono Formation (Mississippian age). As the glacier receded, a series of seven potholes and a gorge were left exposed.
REFERENCES: Bohlin, Annie (1978), Personal communication of existence of feature and its location, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Luzerne County Planning Commission (1976), A plan for the preservation of Whirlpool Canyon, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.