Flume Gorge facts for kids
The Flume Gorge is a stunning natural gorge in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire, United States. It's like a deep, narrow canyon that stretches about 800 feet (244 meters) at the bottom of Mount Liberty. Flume Brook carved this amazing gorge. Its walls are made of a rock called Conway granite. These walls are super tall, reaching 70 to 90 feet (21 to 27 meters) high, and they are only 12 to 20 feet (3.7 to 6.1 meters) apart!
A 93-year-old woman named "Aunt" Jess Guernsey discovered the Flume in 1808. Today, the Flume is a popular place to visit. You can walk through it from May 10th to October 20th, but you need to buy a ticket. Please remember that pets are not allowed inside.
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How the Flume Gorge Was Formed
The Flume Gorge has an amazing history that goes back almost 200 million years! Back then, in the Jurassic period, the rock that makes up the Flume's walls was deep underground. It was once hot, melted rock called magma.
The Story of the Rocks
As this magma cooled down, it turned into granite. This granite then cracked in many places. These cracks went up and down, almost parallel to each other.
Later, a different kind of melted rock, called basalt, pushed its way up into these cracks. The basalt came from deep inside the Earth. It was so strong that it forced the granite apart.
The basalt cooled very quickly against the colder granite. This fast cooling made the basalt a fine-grained rock. If this basalt had reached the surface, it would have flowed out as lava.
How Water Shaped the Gorge
Over millions of years, erosion slowly wore away the Earth's surface. This exposed the basalt rock that had filled the cracks. As the rock above wore away, the pressure on the granite lessened. This caused new cracks to form horizontally.
Water could then get into these new cracks. The basalt rock wore away faster than the surrounding granite. This created a deeper valley where the gorge is now.
The Ice Age's Role
During the Ice Age, huge sheets of ice covered the gorge. However, the ice didn't change the surface much. It mostly filled the valley with glacial debris (rock and dirt left by glaciers). It also removed soil and weathered rock.
After the Ice Age ended, Flume Brook started flowing through the valley again. The water and frost continued to erode the cracked granite and basalt. Even today, the gorge is still slowly changing. As you walk through, you might see parts of the basalt rock on the floor. Small trees also grow on the gorge walls!
How the Flume Was Found
The Flume was discovered by accident in 1808. A 93-year-old woman named "Aunt" Jess Guernsey was fishing when she stumbled upon it. She was so amazed by what she saw!
At first, her family didn't believe her incredible story. But Aunt Jess kept trying and finally convinced them to come and see for themselves.
The Missing Boulder
When the Flume was first discovered, there was a giant, egg-shaped boulder. It was 10 feet (3 meters) high and 12 feet (3.7 meters) long! This huge rock hung perfectly balanced between the gorge walls. It was a truly amazing sight.
However, a very heavy rainstorm in June 1883 caused a big landslide. This landslide swept the giant boulder away from its spot. To this day, the boulder has never been found. That same storm also made the gorge deeper and created the beautiful Avalanche Falls that you can see today.
