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Burke's Garden - "Gods Thumprint"
Ceres, Roaring Fork, Thompson Valley, Frog Level

How was this beautiful place formed? There are many theories as to how the bowl that forms Burke's Garden was created, but they are just that, theories, guesses, speculation. But that's what makes it so fun! Anybody can guess and argue about why their theory is the most probable reason as to how this fertile land between the mountains was created. Some of the most popular theories include:

  • It's a giant sinkhole. The entire valley used to be a big mountain or dome, it collapsed over time due to erosion by water, until you see what is there today. Many sinkholes still occur as this land is part of the broad ranging Karst geography of the region. (Karst areas are areas made up of sinkholes, caves, springs and sinking streams that eat away the limestone causing caverns to form and the earth to collapse..)
  • There once existed a massive volcano that blew it's top, spewing the fertile ash and debris into the air and settling on the valley floor explaining the unusual fertility that Burke's Garden is known for.
  • Some people think this bowl used to be a lake. The water drained out and left the empty bowl as we see it today. (God's soup bowl?)
  • Space Aliens dug this area out long ago to be used as a bowl for their stunt bikes (OK, this is my theory, and they were really big aliens with really bike bikes).

However it happened, Burke's Garden is one of the most unusual geologic and geographic anomalies in the Eastern US. I will try to find out about these and other theories and any other interesting geologic questions and answers, and share my findings with you on the Daily Journal. Do you have a geologic question about Burke's Garden you want the answer to? E-mail me the question and I'll search Burke's Garden to try to find the answer!

Geographic Features of Burke's Garden and beyond:

Burke's Garden is surrounded by Garden Mountain on the North, East and South sides and Beartown Mountain to the West. I'll be crossing Garden Mountain on the south side of Burke's Garden on State Route (SR) 623. I'll begin my ride at 3100 feet and climb to the highest elevation of the day, 3950 feet at the intersection with the Appalachian Trail, which promises to be a good view! (I'll try to get a picture after my breathing settles down) I'll gain 810 feet over 6 miles during the mountain crossing, then drop down 1151 feet in 3.5 miles on the other side! I'll ride some rolling hills as I drop down to Roaring Fork, then climb 1100 feet in 2.5 miles as I approach VA 16. Average grade of my route is 4%.

Population: 280 people
Area: 10 miles long by 5 miles wide
Business: Agriculture
School: None. The old Burke's Garden Elementary School is used as a community center now.

My Plan for Monday:

Monday:

My starting place on Monday is Gose's Mill Pond and my ending place is Thompson's Valley or Frog Level on VA 16, approximately 56 miles, depending on where I end up. I'll take a quick look at Ceres, then head up to explore Roaring Fork and find out about the native trout that live in this stream. People keep telling me what a hard ride this is going to be today. Do they know something I don't know?

I'll be staying at Grama Van Dyke's cabin tonight, My old buddy Jerome Moore set me up there (it's his Grama). I hear there are all kinds of funky-groovy things hanging on the wall in this place. I'll try to get a few pictures for the site so you can check it out too. I'll be armed with some Mission Velocipede T-shirts to bribe people and give as thank you gifts to people who show me some hospitality all week long. I'll update you late Monday night about my ride today, in the Daily Journal section.

I'm anxious to check out the Cove area of Tazewell County on Tuesday because it's supposed to be extremely beautiful there. I have a friend who always reminds me (at least weekly) that they filmed Lassie here and that's where she used to live. I want to know what the big deal is about the Cove, Maiden Spring and Thompson Valley and all this Lassie hoopla. I'll try to find someone, during the next 2 days, who appeared in the Lassie movie and ask them some questions about it.  I hope I don't get bit by Lassie while I ride these next 2 days.

Keep in mind that I am not holding to a really structured schedule, other than my log-on times. I want to remain spontaneous and flexible in what I explore and I want you to help me decide what to check out next, so send me an e-mail if you have suggestions!