Archbald Pothole State Park
Encyclopedia
Archbald Pothole State Park is a 149.16 acres (60.4 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Archbald
, Lackawanna County
, Pennsylvania
in the United States. The focal point of the park is Archbald Pothole. The pothole is a remnant of the Wisconsin Glacial Period, 38 feet (11.6 m) deep with a largest diameter of 42 feet (12.8 m) by 24 feet (7.3 m). It has drawn tourists since just after it was discovered in 1884. Archbald Pothole State Park is on U.S. Route 6 Business in the borough
of Archbald.
s of small rounded stones were removed and Jones soon realized that the vertical tunnel discovered by the coal miners, was a large pothole.
After serving as a ventilation shaft for the mine, the pothole was fenced in by the owner of the land, Colonel Hackley, for tourists to look at it. The pothole soon became a renowned tourist attraction. Edward Jones led the tours for the locals and famous geologist
s. Archbald Pothole was turned over to public ownership in 1914, when the widow
of Colonel Hackley deeded 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) surrounding the pothole to the Lackawanna Historical Society. Lackawanna County
gained ownership of the pothole and the surrounding 150 acres (60.7 ha) in 1940. Archbald Pothole was a county park until 1961 when the property was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archbald Pothole State Park was formally opened in 1964.
While the pothole and surrounding park were long a popular tourist attraction, by the 1990s attendance had fallen and the facilities were in need of repair. The park was closed for a $170,000 "facelift" and when it reopened in 1997 it had been repaved and had new landscaping and new trash receptacles. Despite the improvements, attendance remained low and litter thrown into the pothole was still a problem, including "bottles and paper bags... a parking meter, a park bench and a "Wet Floor" cone". Another problem was the park's "unsavory reputation" as a place for "men looking for sex", with plainclothes police arresting 29 men there for "lewd behavior" in one 2002 sweep. In an attempt to address these issues, in 2002 the Pennsylvania State Legislature approved more improvements to the park, including "least two soccer fields, a basketball court, a tennis court, a walking trail, a playground, roads and parking areas".
. The pothole cuts through layers of sandstone
, shale
and coal
. A pothole, in geologic terms, is a hole that is worn into the bedrock
of a stream in strong rapids or at the base of a waterfall
. The force of the water spins rock fragments, sand and gravel into a small indentation in the bedrock. After years and years of constant spinning, the stones and sands carve out an elliptical hole. Potholes are also formed by the action of glacial
meltwater. Archbald Pothole is an example of just such a pothole.
Archbald Pothole was formed during the Wisconsin Glacial Period
. As the glacier melted, a stream that flowed on top may have fallen into a crevasse and then fell to the bedrock. The force of the falling water created a pothole in much the same way that a waterfall
creates a pothole. The pothole was filled by falling sand, rocks and gravel as the glacier retreated and created other potholes. Archbald Pothole was preserved underground for nearly 13,000 years until its discovery by Patrick Mahon. The park is at an elevation of 1211 feet (369.1 m).
Wilkes-Barre
. Also known as Whirlpool Valley, Seven Tubs is a series of potholes eroded into the bedrock. A hiking trail passes by the seven tub-shaped potholes. Seven Tubs Natural Area is owned by Luzerne County
. It is a popular, but dangerous swimming hole for the daredevils of the area.
Hunting is permitted on over 100 acres (40.5 ha) of the park. The most common game species are squirrels
, turkeys
and white-tailed deer
. The hunting of groundhog
s is not permitted. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania State Game Commission.
Some of the parkland was stripped off in the past by strip mining. This land is currently undergoing a reclamation process and there are plans to use the reclaimed land for recreation and to build athletic fields.
Archbald, Pennsylvania
Archbald is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is named for James Archbald, who was the first mayor of Carbondale, Pennsylvania. Before being re-named in Mr. Archbald's honor, the name of the settlement was White Oak Run. The vast majority of the settlers were Irish...
, Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the United States. The focal point of the park is Archbald Pothole. The pothole is a remnant of the Wisconsin Glacial Period, 38 feet (11.6 m) deep with a largest diameter of 42 feet (12.8 m) by 24 feet (7.3 m). It has drawn tourists since just after it was discovered in 1884. Archbald Pothole State Park is on U.S. Route 6 Business in the borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Archbald.
History
A coal miner, Patrick Mahon, discovered Archbald Pothole in 1884. Mahon was extending a mine shaft. When he set off a blast of explosives, water and stones came pouring into the mine shaft. He and the other miners fled the scene fearing for their lives. The manager of the mining company, Edward Jones, came to investigate. Jones ordered that the area be cleared of the fallen debris. Almost 1,000 tonTon
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of small rounded stones were removed and Jones soon realized that the vertical tunnel discovered by the coal miners, was a large pothole.
After serving as a ventilation shaft for the mine, the pothole was fenced in by the owner of the land, Colonel Hackley, for tourists to look at it. The pothole soon became a renowned tourist attraction. Edward Jones led the tours for the locals and famous geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
s. Archbald Pothole was turned over to public ownership in 1914, when the widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
of Colonel Hackley deeded 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) surrounding the pothole to the Lackawanna Historical Society. Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
gained ownership of the pothole and the surrounding 150 acres (60.7 ha) in 1940. Archbald Pothole was a county park until 1961 when the property was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archbald Pothole State Park was formally opened in 1964.
While the pothole and surrounding park were long a popular tourist attraction, by the 1990s attendance had fallen and the facilities were in need of repair. The park was closed for a $170,000 "facelift" and when it reopened in 1997 it had been repaved and had new landscaping and new trash receptacles. Despite the improvements, attendance remained low and litter thrown into the pothole was still a problem, including "bottles and paper bags... a parking meter, a park bench and a "Wet Floor" cone". Another problem was the park's "unsavory reputation" as a place for "men looking for sex", with plainclothes police arresting 29 men there for "lewd behavior" in one 2002 sweep. In an attempt to address these issues, in 2002 the Pennsylvania State Legislature approved more improvements to the park, including "least two soccer fields, a basketball court, a tennis court, a walking trail, a playground, roads and parking areas".
Geology
Archbald Pothole is 38 feet (11.6 m) deep and 42 feet (12.8 m) wide at its maximum diameterDiameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
. The pothole cuts through layers of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. A pothole, in geologic terms, is a hole that is worn into the bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
of a stream in strong rapids or at the base of a waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
. The force of the water spins rock fragments, sand and gravel into a small indentation in the bedrock. After years and years of constant spinning, the stones and sands carve out an elliptical hole. Potholes are also formed by the action of glacial
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
meltwater. Archbald Pothole is an example of just such a pothole.
Archbald Pothole was formed during the Wisconsin Glacial Period
Wisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
. As the glacier melted, a stream that flowed on top may have fallen into a crevasse and then fell to the bedrock. The force of the falling water created a pothole in much the same way that a waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
creates a pothole. The pothole was filled by falling sand, rocks and gravel as the glacier retreated and created other potholes. Archbald Pothole was preserved underground for nearly 13,000 years until its discovery by Patrick Mahon. The park is at an elevation of 1211 feet (369.1 m).
Nearby glacial formations
- Hickory Run State ParkHickory Run State ParkHickory Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kidder and Penn Forest Townships in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is spread across the Pocono Mountains...
- Hickory Run State Park is in the nearby Pocono Mountains. There are 14 acres (5.7 ha) of jumbled stone caused by the actions of the glaciers during the latest glacial period. The glacial moraineMoraineA moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
crosses the park.
- Seven Tubs Natural AreaSeven Tubs Natural AreaThe Seven Tubs Natural Area is a publicly accessible recreation area located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and owned by the Luzerne County parks and recreation department. Continuously flowing glacial meltwater gouged a line of smooth tubs in gritty sandstone over 12,000 years ago. The tubs are...
- The Seven Tubs Natural Area is about four miles (6 km) southeast of downtown
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. Also known as Whirlpool Valley, Seven Tubs is a series of potholes eroded into the bedrock. A hiking trail passes by the seven tub-shaped potholes. Seven Tubs Natural Area is owned by Luzerne County
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
. It is a popular, but dangerous swimming hole for the daredevils of the area.
- Tannersville Cranberry BogTannersville Cranberry BogThe Tannersville Cranberry Bog or Cranberry Swamp, is a sphagnum bog on the Cranberry Creek in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. It is the southernmost boreal bog east of the Mississippi River, containing many black spruce and tamarack trees at the southern limit of their ranges. Technically, it can be...
- Tannersville Cranberry Bog is in Pocono TownshipPocono Township, PennsylvaniaPocono Township is a township in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. Township government is located in the village of Tannersville, Pennsylvania, near the site of the popular Camelback Water Beach & Ski Area, which is located in Pocono and the adjacent Jackson Township. The top of the ski...
, Monroe CountyMonroe County, Pennsylvania-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River -Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there are 176,567 people, 49,454 households, and 36,447 families residing in the county. The population density was 228 people per square mile...
. This bog, owned by The Nature ConservancyThe Nature ConservancyThe Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
, is the southernmost low-altitude hemiborealHemiborealHemiboreal means halfway between the temperate and subarctic zones. The term is most frequently used in the context of ecosystems.-Botany:...
bogBogA bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
. The bog is home to rare orchids and some carnivorous plants like sundewSundewDrosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement...
and the pitcher plantPitcher plantPitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
.
Recreation
A small loop trail follows an old coal mine tram road for hiking. The trail passes along a rock ledge and through a forest.Hunting is permitted on over 100 acres (40.5 ha) of the park. The most common game species are squirrels
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
, turkeys
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
and white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
. The hunting of groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
s is not permitted. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania State Game Commission.
Some of the parkland was stripped off in the past by strip mining. This land is currently undergoing a reclamation process and there are plans to use the reclaimed land for recreation and to build athletic fields.
Nearby state parks
The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Archbald Pothole State Park:- Frances Slocum State ParkFrances Slocum State ParkFrances Slocum State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kingston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Frances Slocum Lake is a man-made, horseshoe-shaped lake that is a popular fishing and boating destination...
(Luzerne CountyLuzerne County, Pennsylvania- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
) - Gouldsboro State ParkGouldsboro State ParkGouldsboro State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County and Lehigh Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Gouldsboro Lake. Gouldsboro State Park is located very close to Tobyhanna State Park and Pennsylvania State Game...
(MonroeMonroe County, Pennsylvania-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River -Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there are 176,567 people, 49,454 households, and 36,447 families residing in the county. The population density was 228 people per square mile...
and Wayne CountiesWayne County, PennsylvaniaAs of the census of 2000, there were 47,722 people, 18,350 households, and 12,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 65 people per square mile . There were 30,593 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile...
) - Lackawanna State ParkLackawanna State ParkLackawanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Benton and North Abington Townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Lake Lackawanna, a man-made lake, is the central focus of recreation at the park...
(Lackawanna County) - Promised Land State ParkPromised Land State ParkPromised Land State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Blooming Grove, Greene and Palmyra Townships, Pike County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The approximately park is mostly surrounded by Delaware State Forest. It is in the Poconos and sits at . The second growth forests in Promised...
(Pike CountyPike County, Pennsylvania-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River * Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River -Demographics:...
) - Prompton State ParkPrompton State ParkPrompton State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Clinton and Dyberry Townships, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. This park, which was established in 1962, is officially listed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as being undeveloped. This...
(Wayne County) - Tobyhanna State ParkTobyhanna State ParkTobyhanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on mostly in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, with a small portion of the park in Dreher and Lehigh townships in Wayne County, all in Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Tobyhanna Lake and a portion of Tobyhanna Creek...
(Monroe County) - Varden Conservation AreaVarden Conservation AreaVarden Conservation Area is a Pennsylvania state park on in Lake and South Canaan Townships, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The conservation area is currently under development. The land was donated to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in December 2001 by Dr. Mead Shaffer a...
(Wayne County)