Why is Carroll here

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Hydrogeologic Interpretation of the Carroll Cave
Area, Camden County, Missouri Morris Hall,
NSS 15004, Geology Chairman, Carroll Cave
Conservancy Committee
Members - Jeff Page, Rick Hines, Bill Copeland,
Andy Isbell
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• Exploration of Carroll Cave
• Use of Hydrogeologic Data to Find New Cave,
  Prioritize Exploration Surveying
• Surface/Structural Geology
• Groundwater Hydrology
• Karst Morphology
• Integrated Studies (including data base GIS)
• Where is the potential cavern
  development?

KRTC/M.D.Hall
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Previous Reports
Helwig, James, Stratigraphy of Detrital Fills of
Carroll Cave, Camden County, Missouri, Missouri
Speleology v.6, n. 1, pp 1-15, 1964.
Helwig, James, Geology of Carroll Cave, N.S.S.
Bul. 27, Number 1, 25 p., 1967.
Vineyard, J.D., and G.L. Gerald, Springs of
Missouri, Missouri Geol. Survey, 1974.    
KRTC/M.D.Hall
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Carroll Cave Survey Main Passageways (Helwig,
1967)
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Surface
Weathered Roubidoux
Roubidoux
55
Upper Gasconade
100
Lower Gasconade
118
Carroll Cave
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Surface Geology of Montreal Quad.
Red-Upper Roubidoux Green- Lower
Roubidoux Brown-Upper Gasconade Yellow- Lower
Gasconade Blue- Alluvium and hillside debris
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Detailed Surface Geology Carroll Cave Area
Red-Upper Roubidoux Green- Lower
Roubidoux Brown-Upper Gasconade Yellow- Lower
Gasconade Blue- Alluvium and hillside debris
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Structure Top of Lower Gasconade
Carroll Cave Outlined Blue- Alluvium and
hillside debris Contour Interval 20 feet
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Depth to Cave Based on Geologic Model
Contour Interval 20 feet
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pH of Groundwater samples
Calcium Concentration im ppm
Magnesium Concentration in
ppm
Bicarbonate Concentration in ppm
Nitrate Concentration in ppm
Chloride
Concentration in ppm
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Calcite Saturation in Blue- Supersaturation/
Red Undersaturation
Diagrammatic X-section and Saturation Profile of
Calcite (75 saturation line highlighted)
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Upstream of Collapse-End Groundwater flow
estimated to be 825,000gpd (573gpm) at the
collapse end. Based on the estimate of 61 gallons
captured for each foot of main Carroll
passageway, the estimate of up to 13,500 of
passage exists to the west of the collapse end of
Upper Thunder River.
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Whirlpool Sinkhole
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Sinkhole Distribution Montreal Quad. 5-foot
Sinkholes
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Location of Sinkholes Around Carroll Cave
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Location of Sinkholes Topography Carroll Cave
 
  There are only three sets of sinkholes over the
known cave (1)    A series of small sinks at
the end of Upper Thunder River, which are too
small to show on any of these maps (includes old
sinkhole dig) (2)    A sink downstream of the
T-Junction in Lower Thunder River and (3)    A
sink which marks the termination of the DL-7 side
passageway.    
 
 
Detailed Sinkhole Map, Carroll Cave area showing
5 sinks and topography Red Oval- Upland,
plateau sinks Blue Solid Ovals Sinks close to
cave passageway, which might indicate cave
extensions Blue Dash Circles Sinks over cave
passageway, which might provide direct connection
to known cave
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Sinkhole Interpretation Probability of Cave
Connection/Depth to Cave
Collapse? Solution Sinkhole? Blind Valley Sink?
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Sinkhole Characterization Quantitative
MethodsDrainage Area/Collapse Area/Profile
Sections/Surface Geology/Depth to Cave/Volume
Estimation/Width to Depth Ratio/Temperature
Surveys/Sinkhole Classification
All this goes into the interpretation of what the
sinkhole is telling us about the subsurface
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Preliminary Sinkhole Characterization
Drainage Area (Larger drainage area the
better) Collapse Area if collapse sinkhole or
Surface Area if solution sink Surface Geology
(Lower Gasconade most favorable) Volume (In case
of collapse, bigger volume means bigger cave
room) Width to Depth Ratio (lt 2 generally
indicates collapse) Temperature Survey (Positive
Winter anomaly above 2 standard
deviationscave) Other Considerations Loca
tion in Relationship to Cave(s) and other
sinkholes Position-Valley, Hillside,
Ridge-top Variation in Sink geometry with time-
active vs. inactive Sinkhole Classification-
Collapse, Solution sink, blind-valley (valley)
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Example of Probable Cave Extension Bill and
Andys Whirlpool Sink
Carroll Cave
Meters
Carroll is only 2000 meters from an excellent
example of cavern roof collapse.
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Sinkhole Characterization Study- Bill and Andys
Whirlpool Sink
Drainage Area 23 acres
Collapse Area .8 acres
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Sinkhole Characterization Study- Bill and Andys
Whirlpool Sink (Cont.)
Surface Geology- Lower Gasconade
Depth to Cave 50
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Temperature Survey Prior to Discovery of Prairie
Hollow Cave
Cave Discovery Here
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Probable Cave
Station Spacing is App, 5
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Probable Cave
1 Map Scale Division 5
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Characterization of Whirlpool Sinkhole Drainage
Area 23 acres Collapse Area .8 acres Profile
Sections Strike 38/ Dip 16/ Depth 55/
Width 100 Surface Geology Lower
Gasconade Depth to Possible Cave lt 50 Volume
3800 cubic yards Width/Depth 1.82 Temperature
Anomaly gt 2 SD above background yes Location
over known cave no Location in line with
other sinkholes no Position- Hillside/ Active
Collapse apparent / Sinkhole Classification-
Collapse Other Comments- dye traced to Toronto
Springs? Sink takes large volume of water during
storms. Sink has changed considerably over time
(still collapsing) Interpretation - High
probability of cave connection at depth lt50
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Valley Sinkhole Located Near End of DL-7 Passage
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Valley Type Sinkhole/Barnett Hollow Northwest of
Carroll Cave
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Location of Karst Features in the Montreal Area
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Highlighted Exploration Areas in Carroll Cave
System

Toronto Spring
 
Push Upper Thunder River Passage west towards the
plateau sinks. A minimum of 35 of overburden
exits to the west of the collapse end. Look for
side passageways going south from about 1/3 up
the Upper Thunder River Passage past the Round
Room (left going into cave). The overburden gets
pretty thin at a minimum of 20 west of the Round
Room. Exploration in this area may help push the
cave past Traw Hollow on the south and into
another drainage divide. Look for side
passageways on the left side (west) in D-7,
about 2/3 the length down the passage. These
might connect with the sinkholes located
northwest in Barnett Hollow. Look for side
passageways to the north along the right side of
the Carroll River Passageway, and downstream
Lower Thunder River. One of these might connect
with Perkins Cave, a cave about .5 mile in length
located northeast of Carroll. The most promising
potential, but the most dangerous, is the water
passage to Toronto Spring from the sump at the
end of Lower Thunder River. It is likely that
the passage becomes larger going towards the
spring. This one segment could double the length
of the known cave system. There is a possible
extension of the DL-7 side passage towards
Toronto Springs.
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• Observations/Implications
• Carroll Cave is developed primarily in the Lower
  Gasconade Formation. Most sinks are developed in
  the Upper or Lower Gasconade formation./ Sinks
  formed in the Lower Gasconade Formation have a
  better chance of connecting with Carroll.
• Upper Thunder River(UTR)-Carroll River(CR)
  passageways are oriented along dip of geologic
  structure while the Lower Thunder River(LTR)- DL7
  passageways follow the strike of geologic
  structure./ Different structural control of
  passageway orientation implies different genesis
  and timing of passage development.
• Barnett Hollow truncates the cave to the
  northwest, but there is sufficient overburden for
  the cave to go northeast, west and south./If the
  cave goes below Traw Hollow, it could become a
  world class cave in terms of map length.
• Groundwater chemistry (ph, element
  concentrations and mineral saturations) imply
  significant addition of acidic groundwaters to
  LTR waters./ Inflow from sinkholes in Barnett
  Hollow are mixing with LTR waters.

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• Potential of Carroll
• Potential new areas of cave
• Barnett Hollow-DL7 12,100
• Sump to Toronto Spring 37,000
• Upstream of Collapse End 13,500
• Side-passageways (100 _at_1000) 100,000
• - Newly mapped passageways 8,000
• Existing map 59,400
• TOTAL 230,000
• or 43.5 MILES

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Hydrogeologic Interpretation of the Carroll Cave
Area, Camden County, Missouri
by M.D.Hall
Following Reports _at_ www.carrollcave.org and _at_
Karst Research and Technology Center (KRTC)
www.karstresearch.com gtPreliminary Geologic
Report on T-Junction Borehole
gtIntroduction to Carroll Cave Geology gtRemote
Sensing Applications at Carroll
Cave gtPreliminary Sinkhole Evaluation of
Montreal Quad. gtWhirlpool Sinkhole
Report gtPreliminary Hydrochemistry of Carroll
Cave gtEarth Science Plan and Schedule
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Special Thanks to Carrolls Surveyors
Ron Lather Tom Lounsbury Roger Brown Randy
Bruegger Brian Borton Bill Howard Ben Miller
Jeremy King Bob Lerch Andy Lerch Jessie Bebb
Dan Austin Jay Hinesly Jeff Crews Matt Goska
Eddie Simmons Carl Wagner James
Corsentino Andy Free Rita Worden Chris
McCracken Jessica Nave Tom Panion Dan
Isbell Bill Gee Paul Woods Rodney Tennyson
Jeana Tennyson Ashley Fleming Marsha
Walker Shawn Williams Wayne Pierce Brian
Goertz Heather Levy
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