by Mark Johnson
When visiting waterfalls, it’s fun to try to understand what you are seeing and why things are the way they are. Streams, rivers, waterfalls and gullys are created by the effects water and gravity over time. Considering these forces while hiking yields interesting possibilities even the the mind of an untrained amateur. One of the most fascinating places I’ve discovered through Footprint Press publications 
is Rattlesnake Gulf in the Onondaga Valley near Tully, NY. Rattlesnake Gulf is just one of hundreds of places in New York to see waterfalls, but it has some unusual characteristics such as the presence of mudboils and susceptibility to landslides. These characteristics in this location have a significant impact on human activity; homes, farms, roads and other improvements in the area have been altered or destroyed by landslides, while the turbidity caused by mudboils and erosion degrades the water quality in Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake to the north. For these reasons, Rattlesnake Gulf receives significant scrutiny from the scientific community. Geologists also study the effects of water, gravity and time to understand various earth phenomena.
The Unites State Geological Survey recently released a report on soil movement in a recent landslide area in Rattlesnake Gulf. This scientific paper evaluates variations in growth patterns in tree rings, and includes fascinating pictures of trees whose trunks were split by landslides. In some cases the tree remains intact with a gap in the trunk. (I suspect that this creates a suitable abode for trolls, nymphs and wood fairies, though these forest creatures are not mentioned in this study.) In other places split trees have separated into two distinct pieces standing several feet apart due to continued soil movement. To learn more, download the 24-page pdf at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5134/pdf/sir2009-5134.pdf. Extreme caution should be exercised when visiting this active landslide area, and private property should be respected by observing any ‘no trespassing’ signs. This area should especially be avoided during and immediately following periods of heavy rain.
(Thanks to Mark for sending along this new information.)
