Swimming in clay/sand mines...

[Boyd]

I haven't stopped by recently, but the North gate has been open for a couple weeks now so I don't see how they could prevent you from accessing the trails. I am pretty reluctant to head out on those trails this time of year. They all have sections of very high grass and the chiggers are just murder.

Am looking forward to the winter so I can spend more time at the hidden ruins. I believe the USGS now has LIDAR imagery available for this area too, and am interested to see what secrets that may reveal.

 

[manumuskin]

I can't get the Lidar site to download at all but I have read in the NSS magazine that they are using it to locate cave entrances,now that interests me

 

[Boyd]

Have you tried the National Map Viewer? http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/

Use the download tool and check elevation in the USGS Available Data window that opens. Then choose National Elevation Dataset 1/9 arc second from the list - this is the LIDAR data (if available). You could open the downloaded files with the GlobalMapper free demo.

This is a new interface the USGS rolled out recently and I find it a bit confusing.

 

[pineywoman]

Boyd you rock! I am buying a Garmin and it's a date with all of those maps you have created. ONE WORD- AWESOME.

Now here is a question for you because I hear different from other sources... what makes the water so clear in these Blue Holes?? Is it the Lime they use to get the PH levels down? The vegetation? Or is it just very clean and the color of the sand in conjunction with the algae (which usually creates the color in the Caribbean) and sun make this beautiful color here in NJ?

 

[manumuskin]

I would assume the color comes from the water being clear due to lack of tannins in the water because of lack of tannin producing substances like oak leaves and bark and cedar and such and the lack of black mud yet to cover the bottom.So you have clear ground water over a white sand bottom mostly and then the blue color would be reflected from a clear sky.If the water is turqoise color this would be caused from clay particles floating in the water such as you have in a used hole where they are constantly keeping the ground and water in a disturbed state.The particles scatter the light and filter out some of the blue light which makes the water more turquoise to green.The hole will look grey when the weather is nasty.As a side note the sky is blue necause blue light is a shorter wavelength and scatters in the dust of the atmosphere more quickly then longer wavelengths like red hence you see the blue light whereas the red light passes through but this red light also scatters at dawn and dusk when it has to pass through more atmosphere and dust to reach your eyes due to the oblique angle it hits your section of the earth at at that time.

 

[piker56]

I've swam in some of the "blue holes", but I'd rather swim in nice cool cedar water. I had a real nice swim Monday night at Batsto Lake.
Greg

 

[manumuskin]

cedar water has a feel on your skin like silk but it sucks for diving.I like diving and exploring the bottom.get a stump in your face doin that in cedar water.

 

[piker56]

cedar water has a feel on your skin like silk but it sucks for diving.I like diving and exploring the bottom.get a stump in your face doin that in cedar water.

Agreed. I should have mentioned that I am extremely careful when swimming in Cedar water. I did try using goggles once, but I couldn't see much.
Greg

 

[EffinGenius]

Hey pineywoman. Glad to see you here. I've been reading (and enjoying) your blog for a while now and just came back here when you posted this site on your blog.

 

[pineywoman]

Thanks EffinGenius. It is a great site and quite informative. Great folks here. It's a great place to interact with other intelligent folks. Plus, these guys are really quite cool.

 

[pineywoman]

Hahaha!! I came across this a horror film being made about the blue hole in the Monroe Township in NJ. Supposedly anyone that gave money to back it gets a vile of water from the actual blue hole. Wow isn't that illegal? Neat concept though. Hope all is well. Here's the link.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects..."4509652347139":"og.likes"}&action_ref_map=[]

 

[manumuskin]

Thats wasn't the Blue Hole and that cabin definitely was not in the Barrens and neither was that large rock the girl was sitting one.This reminds me of the song "Millers Cave" where they speak of the it being in the Okefenokee swamp and the everglades in georgia,the glades are nowhere near Georgia and there are no caves in the Glades or the Okiefenokee swamp.

 

[pineywoman]

They filmed it or are filming it in California. However, it is based off the Blue Hole in the Winslow WMA. Lol.the director is a native of NJ.

 

[manumuskin]

I always pick apart movies when you can tell they weren't made on location.That cabin was in the hills and they weren't the forked river mountains either.The blue hole was a mud hole and indeed the blue hole they speak of is not really a blue hole at all like menantico is.It is not bottomless nor are there strong currents in it.I guess I just never understood Hollywood.By the way the Waltons was not made in Virginia neither were the actors Virginians.You's think with the money Hollywoods has they go to the effort to be more topographically and ecologically correct.I have heard Common Loon wails in southern cypress swamps in Hollywood films,come on guys!I also once heard Green treefrogs in Alaska.

 

[Hinchman's Hill]

Thats wasn't the Blue Hole and that cabin definitely was not in the Barrens and neither was that large rock the girl was sitting one.This reminds me of the song "Millers Cave" where they speak of the it being in the Okefenokee swamp and the everglades in georgia,the glades are nowhere near Georgia and there are no caves in the Glades or the Okiefenokee swamp.

Yeah, that whole "Tiger Mountain" in the middle of the swamp never seemed quite right. But Bobby Bare is still awesome.

 

[manumuskin]

I love Bobby Bare and everything he sings except this song.I really love "The Winner" and "Marie Lavoe". I am far from politically correct but dang it I am topographically correct!