Swifts TurtleBack Rock

[P.ALLEN]

There are a couple of bluish limestone formations in Kentucky, it's usually associated with deeper marine sediment. I speculate that when the Appalachians were being shoved around and smashed between other continents the stress pushed up another ridge further away. That iron is caused by leaching from groundwater (during the time it was underwater and before rains and deep water carved it out) I've seen fossilized treebark, that just is totally replaced by that iron (in the sandstone). That whole section of the DB forest south of RRG is crazy that it runs separate from the Appalachian section on the WV Virginia TN line up and down through the Cumberland Gap. I've been canoeing 40-50 miles on the BSF Cumberland and there are definite granites through there. How far north they go is hard to judge, that's rough country. Respect to the old timers,

Ridge and Valley is prominent in Penn, so it's def a possibility there. They say though in that section of the DB forest south of RRG is where the mine/deposits would be if it was anywhere in Kentucky

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[KY Hiker]

Just South of Natural Bridge S.P. along the middle fork of the Red River and its drains as well as over and down into the headwaters of Lower Devil's creek as it drains to the KY River ought to be prime candidates for ground work. The drains on and along Mill Creek as well. Thing is, I think most of that is privately owned land within the National Forest!
Just West of Zachariah is a place called Standing Rock I always wanted to check out as well. Just wonder if it looks peculiar or not!

https://www.topoquest.com/map.php?l...&zoom=16&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomout&size=m

 

[P.ALLEN]

I've heard of that, I would also check into the maritime/river laws in Kentucky, there are public easements that allow you go down private stretches of river and on the banks without legal recourse, Fed or State land might trump that though. In Michigan, land owner boundary is to the middle of the body of water between the next owned piece of land. Doesn't mean they own the artifacts in the river though, and they have to allow for safe passage, can't fence it up. Ky River is unique, they would have been using that to get to the gap and back, so tree/rock markers might be good things to look for. Especially if there are potential caches in the area. Cherokee and Shawnee loved those.

Rockcastle river would have also been a jumping off spot. I would even go as far to say there are more than likely caches/old campsites in that area (intersection of the Kentucky and Rockcastle) that would play out artifacts.

https://www.outragegis.com/gorge/3d/ I've bought a set of those at the BP/Shell at Slade. 4 map set.

They've got other maps of Kentucky too.

 

[KY Hiker]

The middle fork of the Red as it passes through the state park is more like a large creek and would not be deep enough except after a rain storm for canoe or kayak, much less so the multiple drains into it that could be jumped in most places. The S.J.M. rock is supposed to be on Lower Devils Creek as well as the compass rock. Both are supposed to be on private land, or so I have been told. Mill Creek has been dammed up to make a lake, the drains on up the creek that feeds the lake do have my interest.

https://www.topoquest.com/map.php?l...27&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomin&size=m

Outrageous maps are great for hiking but they are NOT to scale, so I stick to topo maps for this kind of thing.

https://www.topoquest.com/map.php?l...nad27&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=pan&size=m

 

[P.ALLEN]

North of Beattyville is Silver Creek, it runs into the Kentucky, goes through some dense stuff. The mouth of that creek into the Kentucky would more than likely produce some relics, kinda like keys to the puzzle. For years I've looked via google earth at places throughout the rivers in Kentucky, looking for old fords, and good spots where folks would have camped out during the early days. Cumberland Falls is steeped in Kentucky History too, Historic/Pre-historic warpath among the first nations folks, and between the colonial settlers. Search "Black Drink" Yaupon Holly. Strictly for Males, one Cherokee Princess (at least I think she was Cherokee) was allowed to drink it before a council deciding war at Cumberland Falls. It's too bad that the dam/lake is holding secrets along the old river banks there (not exactly at the falls).

Some of those satellite views are good, you can almost tell what rock types are in the sandbars and such. I've been able to locate limestone seams in some of them that would be good collection points for heavy stuff (AquaChigger kinda shows you the techniques for excavating those kind of cracks) I like him because he shows practical methods for hunting/you guys probably knew that though.