Name/Title
S25.05.019Description
An outcrop of Black Hand Sandstone Member of the Cuyahoga Formation at the Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve, Licking County, Ohio. The Black Hand Sandstone is characterized by thick to massive beds of cross-bedded sandstone that form prominent cliffs. The Black Hand Sandstone bedrock unit was named for the large, dark, hand-shaped American Indian petroglyph carved into the cliff wall at the location of this nature preserve. The petroglyph was destroyed in 1828 during the construction of the towpath for the Ohio and Erie Canal. Bedrock in this area is from the Mississippian Geologic Period. This photograph was an entry in the 1983 Ohio Geology Slide Contest.
This slide image included in the USGS National Digital Catalog for NGGDPP Grant G15AP00115 in FY2015.Context
Sandstone outcrop lining a creek down below; trees are sticking out of outcrop. Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve in Licking County, Ohio.