Chuck Sutherland

This is intended to serve as a table of contents for existing, and future articles on the physiography of the Southeast United States. Cumberland Plateau Geology How it got here Crossbedding Fossils Liesegang Rings Minerals Sandstone as a Resource Tafoni Geography Natural Arches Overlooks Rivers Rock Shelters Slot Canyons / Caves Rock Towns Waterfalls Eastern Highland Rim Geology How it Got Here Pennington Formation Bangor Limestone Hartselle Sandstone Monteagle Limestone St. Louis Limestone Warsaw Limestone Fort Payne Limestone Chattanooga Shale Minerals ...

Table of Contents The Story David Starnes's Photos April Moore's Photos Watch Guide for Locals THE STORY BEHIND WALT DISNEY'S DECISION TO FILM RUDYARD KIPLING'S JUNGLE BOOK MOVIE AT LOST CREEK CAVE AND WATERFALL A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION BY DAVID STARNES RETIRED PRINCIPAL PLANNER LOCAL PLANNING ASSISTANCE OFFICE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT I was employed by the State of Tennessee as a community planner from October 1990 to August 2011. The Local Planning Assistance Office of the Upper Cumberland region was based in Cookeville. Our agency was in the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, which also included the Tennessee Film Commission. Occasionally, different agencies would meet to explain their role in fostering economic growth in the state, and this was how my love for caving became entwined in the 1994 Walt Disney live-actio...

While I am by no means the expert at either of the things this blog post is about, I know a little more than the average Joe. I provide this knowledge here to those curious, and for my own records. The information provided here is especially relevant to the southeastern United States. If you are from elsewhere you may find that not all the information I provide suits your environment, the types of petroglyphs you have, or your photography needs. Early along in my caving career it was shared with me that some of the sites we were visiting had prehistoric records in the form of pictographs and petroglyphs. Pictographs are painted onto the wall with a medium, like charcoal, or red ochre. Petroglyphs, or glyphs, are incised marks on stone. The two are different enough to warrant separate articles on how to photograph and image. If you are interested in photographing pictographs, check out this article I wrote on the subject. I should note that the techniques I provide here for imaging petr...

As someone who caves and explores, I sometimes find historic, or apparently historic signatures on rocks and in caves. While I am by no means an expert, I know a few things which may serve to help others provide evidence towards authenticating historic or prehistoric markings. I want to note that we very rarely every know with certainty most things. What we can do is document the evidence and see where it points us. I should also point out that in modern times leaving a signature or a drawing in caves or on overlooks is not only a criminal act, but an unethical act. The study of how humans have previously marked their landscape is in no way advertising that we should also do the same - in fact the opposite. I will write more on this later, but leave any petty or trifiling argumentation regarding what's historic and acceptible here. The remainder of this article shall be strictly about identification. Now, imagine that we've been wandering in the woods for hours and come upo...