[Rockhounds] Ohio Celestine cave

[linda at middleearthminerals.com]

Steve, that's a great story.  I can imagine how freaked out I'd be if I found something similar happening nearby!  I grew up in the Midwest and tended to think of the Great Lakes region as unchanging.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that a billion years ago, the North American continent almost pulled itself apart there!  Then a further surprise to learn that much more recently, the ice ages had a big effect still causing changes today.

Pete, thanks for the further information that some portions are going up while others go down, in effect acting like tilted/hinged blocks.  That is a familiar metaphor to me as I am now living in the basin-and-range of Nevada.  And I am not a geologist, so my apologies to the geologists for dabbling in it.

Eva, yes, the lake bottom is indeed moving up or down, but since the lakes are connected to the Saint Lawrence Seaway and thence to the Atlantic, this allows for increased drainage if the bottom has a net upwards motion.  Also, rivers flowing in or out of the lakes will adjust their flow up or down as well to compensate for new elevation differences.  And even if there were no flows in or out, the tilting would cause changes in shorelines.  This is why we need computer models - can you imagine trying to track all this data without them?  And GPS satellites to make the measurements.

Linda

-----Original Message-----
From: Rockhounds <rockhounds-bounces at rockhounds.drizzle.com> On Behalf Of Stephen Shimatzki
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2022 9:29 PM
To: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors <rockhounds at rockhounds.drizzle.com>
Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] Ohio Celestine cave

Linda, I recall a story a few years back of some place in northern Michigan.  (Pre covid, but I can't recall the year or town)  basically it went like this: There was a large thundering sound one evening and a farmer thought it was odd but dismissed it as a plane.  The next morning when he went out to check a fence and there was a huge fault line opened up in his field.  At first it was assumed an earthquake and unknown fault but later it was determined to be the result of bounce back from the ice age.  The rock under stress for so long, finally just cracked.  Much like me at work during harvest season.

I think I tried looking into it a few times but couldn't find anymore info.  I didn't know that led to folks thinking the lakes are shrinking, but that doesn't surprise me.

Steve


On Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 3:26 PM <linda at middleearthminerals.com> wrote:

> I have heard that all the Great Lakes are still rebounding from the 
> weight of ice that covered and depressed them during the latest ice 
> ages.  This leads to receding shorelines that tend to make people 
> believe the lakes are shrinking.
>
> Linda St-Cyr
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rockhounds <rockhounds-bounces at rockhounds.drizzle.com> On Behalf 
> Of Johan Maertens
> Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2022 4:27 AM
> To: rockhounds at rockhounds.drizzle.com
> Subject: [Rockhounds] Ohio Celestine cave
>
> Prior to meeting Steve Shimatzki at the Midwest Federation of Mineral 
> societies at his club’s show in 2021, I visited the famous Celestine 
> cave on South Bass Island, Ohio in Lake Erie. You can indeed walk 
> through the small cave. It was enlarged and 140 tons of Celestine were 
> removed and sold for industrial use. The experience is amazing. Giant 
> Celestine crystals are all around you. The explanation by the bar 
> tender aka tour guide is poor at best.It is not an ice age relic. What 
> make me wonder is how the cave can be dry. The islands are comprised 
> of karstic limestone. There are no Rivers or creeks on the islands. 
> That is why the cave was found: digging a well. The cave may be just 
> above the water level. The Heineman wines (the dry ones) are average 
> at best. It is a double fun experience. There is a regular cave across the street. That is a cave with speleothems, no Celestine.
>
> Johan Maertens
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