Geologic Features |
Geologic Features |
| Hogmaw Cave | contact: Jim Reger, (jreger@mgs.md.gov ) |
| Hogmaw Cave | |||
| Geology: | (click on an image for a larger view) | ||
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Five caves are known
from the area north of Rohrersville and west of Locust Grove. Two of these
– Hogmaw Cave and King Quarry Cave – have several hundred feet
of passage and are rather interesting. The remaining three – Column
Cave, Keedy Cave, and Rohrersville No. 5 Cave – are small and of
little interest. All but the latter occur within 1000 feet of each other
and are no doubt genetically related and represent the same original system.
Evidence for this is obtained from drainage observations and a surface
correlation of the maps. |
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| Description | |||
| The
entrance to Hogmaw Cave is south of the King Quarry Cave entrance. Water
is encountered in the cave throughout the year, fluctuating as much as three
feet, depending on the season. Consequently, it has yielded much of the
biological material reported from the system. The cave entrance, which is
on the southeastern face of the sink, opens into a short crawlway leading
to a small room containing a shallow pool of water. Beyond the pool the
cave divides into two passages. The short, right passage ends in a small
water-filled room with a siphon. The second or main passage is a very muddy, Z-shaped crawlway extending for 70 feet. Beyond the narrow crawl, the crawlway becomes a wide channel with ceiling heights from 5 to 8 feet. This passage narrows to the east and leads via a tight squeeze through columns and a near-siphon to a low, broad breakdown room. A tunnel to the north drops 8 feet into a trench containing from 3 to 5 feet of water. Several side passages branch off from this section but become too tight to follow. Returning to the main passage, we find a route which turns south, by-passing a large, nicely decorated room. The east end of this room is profusely ornamented with columns, white soda straws, small stalactites, and draperies. On the dry, clay floor of this room many interesting invertebrates were collected among decaying nuts and piles of wood which were probably brought into the cave by small mammals. Beyond this room, the muddy passage again opens up into a wide channel. A water-filled crevice, 4 feet wide and 10 feet deep, is encountered approximately 50 feet from the formation room. Persons unknown to the authors have placed a large wood plank across this “well,” giving easy access to the rest of the cave. An attempt to explore the shelf near the bottom of the pool was made in 1964. With aid of an aqualung, a water-filled passage, 4 feet in diameter, was followed for 30 feet until clouding of the water forced a retreat. No subsequent efforts have been made. Beyond the crevice and a clay bank, the passage opens into a large, beautifully decorated tunnel, 20 feet wide and 8 feet high. Water one or two feet deep covers the floor of the channel for almost 100 feet. The floor of this passage is solid, presenting no danger to the caver. Beyond this long chamber lies another large room, also with a submerged floor. Many large stalagmites, stalactites, and columns are found in this section. This passage is developed along a major joint with the same orientation as King Quarry Cave. The bedding here, however, is dipping 25º E., and serves to modify passage dimensions and decorations. A long “row” of stalactites and columns occur along a bedding plane intersection and stretches the length of the room. Drapery is developed on the dipping walls and breakdown faces. A stream flows into the rear of this room but the stream channel is too low to negotiate. This last room ends in breakdown, possibly due to blasting in the small quarry nearby which contains the entrance to Rohrersville Column Cave. For all practical purposes the cave terminates at this point. However, the survey maps show a coincidence of Hogmaw Cave’s southern end (breakdown room) with the small quarry’s northeast face, as well as the overlapping of Column Cave. (from ES3 -Caves of Maryland) |
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| updated
3/7/05
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