Stop 9: Lower Falls



The Lower or "Winter Wren" Falls

The lower falls of the stream is the starting point of our geologic journey through time. This falls is at the western end and the lowest elevation of the tour route. The picturesque cascade was formed in the oldest rocks that we will see on our tour, the 370-million-year-old marine shales and siltstones of the Ohio Shale (Chagrin Member). It gets its nickname from the powerful and continuous trill of diminutive winter wrens that inhabit the hemlock-covered slopes above the falls. This is an example of a caprock waterfall. For more details on how they form, click on the thumbnails below. The falls shown below are both in the Bedford Formation, about half way up the stream.

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