379. Port Kennedy Cave

TOWNSHIP: Upper Merion
QUADRANGLE: Valley Forge
LOCATION: In a quarry 800 feet wist of the village of Port Kennedy.

REMARKS: When this cave was first discovered it contained many Pleistocene fossils, including mammoth bones. Today the cave is filled and closed. It is considered to be one of the richest animal-remain sites in the state. A mastodon, two species of saber-toothed tigers, three peccaries, a tapir, and a huge bear were among the 41 species found.

REFERENCES: Gilmore, C. W. [1938], Fossil snakes of North America, Geological Society of America Special Paper 9, 96 p.
Lesley, J. P. editor [1883], The geology of Chester County, Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 2nd ser., Report C4, p. 187.
Wheatley, C. M. [1871], Notice of the discovery of a cave in eastern Pennsylvania, containing remains of post-Pliocene fossils, American Journal of Science, 3rd ser., v. 1, no. 4, p. 235-237.

UPDATES: According to the PA Geological Survey this site is now considered "extinct". It was filled in many years ago. [09/03/09]

LINKS:
Port Kennedy Bone Cave Rediscovered - March 2006 GSA Northeastern Section Meeting Presentation [09/03/09]
Heaps of Fossils in a Cave - New York Times archived article from 1895 [09/03/09]
The Age of Mammals... - Online Free Google Book from 1921 with Port Kennedy References [09/03/09]

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346. Ringing Rocks

TOWNSHIP: Lower Pottsgrove
QUADRANGLE: Sassamansville
LOCATION: Ringing Hill Fire Company Park; 1.2 miles north of Pottstown on Pa. Route 663 (North Charlotte Street); the entrance to the park is from the intersection of Route 663 and White Pine Lane.

REMARKS: A diabase boulder field where various boulders have a different sound when struck with a hammer; a tune may be played on the rocks.

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