![]() | Archbald PotholeBrochure |
Brochure of Archbald Pothole State Park (SP) in Pennsylvania. Published by Pennsylvania State Parks.
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Archbald Pothole State Park
A Pennsylvania Recreational Guide
Archbald Pothole State Park is a 150-acre park in
northeastern Pennsylvania. The park is named for
Archbald Pothole, a geologic feature that formed
during the Wisconsin Glacial Period, around 15,000
years ago.
The pothole is 38 feet deep and has an elliptical
shape. The diameter of the pothole decreases
downward. The largest diameter is 42 feet by 24 feet.
At the bottom it is 17 feet by 14 feet. The pothole
has a volume of about 18,600 cubic feet, so could
hold about 140,000 gallons. It would take 35 fire
truck tankers to fill the pothole.
Directions
Archbald Pothole is in Lackawanna County,
nine miles north of Scranton. The park is easily
reached from Interstate 81. Take Exit 191A to US
6 east towards Carbondale. The park entrance is
six miles on the right.
GPS DD: Lat. 41.51305 Long. -75.5757
More
Information
Archbald Pothole State Park
c/o Lackawanna State Park
1839 Abington Road
North Abington Township, PA 18414
570-945-3239
email: lackawannasp@pa.gov
An Equal Opportunity Employer
www.visitPAparks.com
Information and Reservations
Make online reservations at
www.visitPAparks.com or call toll-free
888-PA-PARKS (888-727-2757), 7:00 AM to
5:00 PM, Monday to Saturday, for state park
information and reservations.
facebook.com/visitPAparks
twitter.com/visitPAparks
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Recreational Opportunities
Nearby Attractions
Information on nearby attractions is available from
the Northeast Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors
Bureau. www.visitnepa.org
Built on reclaimed strip-mined lands, Ed Staback
Park has tennis and basketball courts, baseball
fields, and a playground.
Pennsylvania’s first heritage park, the
Lackawanna Heritage Valley, tells the story of the
important role that the Lackawanna Valley played in
America’s Industrial Revolution--supplying over 80
percent of the nation’s anthracite coal that fueled the
growth of American industry. www.lhva.org
Nearby Glacial Attractions
At Hickory Run State Park, Boulder Field is 14
acres of jumbled stone caused by severe weather
of the last glacial period. The glacier end moraine
crosses the park. Hickory Run State Park can be
reached at Exit 274 off of I-80. Follow PA 534 east
to the park. 570-443-0400
Glacial meltwater eroded the bedrock and created
a series of potholes in an area now called Whirlpool
Valley. Owned by the Bureau of Forestry, the Seven
Tubs Natural Area can be reached at Exit 164 off
I-81. Follow PA 115 south for 2.5 miles. The park is
on the right. 570-477-5467
The 150-acre Tannersville Cranberry Bog is the
southernmost low altitude boreal bog on the eastern
seaboard. The wetland contains carnivorous plants,
rare orchids, and other plants. The bog is owned
by the Nature Conservancy and can only be visited
during scheduled tours. 570-629-3061
The eastern side of the park has undergone strip
mine reclamation and has athletic fields in Ed
Staback Park.
HIKING: A small loop trail starting at the
wayside follows an old coal mine tram road
passed rock ledges and through a forest.
HUNTING AND FIREARMS: Over 100
acres are open to limited hunting, trapping and
the training of dogs during established seasons.
Common game species are deer, squirrel, and
turkey.
Use extreme caution with firearms at all
times. Be sure to read and follow all hunting
and firearms rules and regulations posted on the
Bureau of State Parks’ website.
www.visitPAparks.com
1/2017
Access for People with
Disabilities
This symbol indicates facilities and activities
that are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
accessible for people with disabilities. This
publication text is available in alternative formats.
If you need an accommodation to participate in
park activities due to a disability, please contact the
park you plan to visit.
In an Emergency
Call 911 and contact a park employee. Directions to
the nearest hospital are posted on bulletin boards.
NEAREST HOSPITAL
Geisinger Community Medical Center
1800 Mulberry Street
Scranton, PA 18510
570-703-8000
History
Archbald Pothole was discovered in 1884 by coal
miner Patrick Mahon while extending a mine shaft.
Mr. Mahon fired a blast of explosives and water
and stones came rushing down. The miners fled
fearing that the mountain was falling on them.
Edward Jones, the manager of the mining company,
investigated and ordered the area cleared of debris.
About 800 to 1,000 tons of small rounded stones
were removed and Mr. Jones realized that the
vertical tunnel was a large pothole.
About 1,000 feet north of Archbald Pothole,
another pothole was found, but it was thought to be
larger than the first pothole and was not excavated
because of the excessive cost.
Archbald Pothole was briefly used as a ventilation
shaft for the mine. A large fire kept burning in the
bottom made the pothole function like a chimney,
drawing air out of the mine. In 1887, Colonel
Hackley, the landowner, built a fence and retaining
wall around the hole. Edward Jones gave many
tours of the pothole to local citizens and to noted
geologists. The pothole became a popular tourist
attraction. In 1914, the widow of Colonel Hackley
donated a one-acre deed, which included the pothole,
to the Lackawanna Historical Society.
With the addition of 150 acres, Archbald Pothole
became a Lackawanna County park in 1940. The
county deeded the property to the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania 1961, and after improvements,
Archbald Pothole State Park was dedicated in 1964.
but so did unique animals like saber-toothed cats,
giant ground sloths, mammoths, beavers the size of
wolves, deer the size of horses, and other prehistoric
animals.
The climate of the earth began to cool. Ice sheets
in the arctic regions began slowly spreading in all
directions. In the Northern Hemisphere, this glacier
was called the Laurentide Continental Glacier and
was several miles thick in the center while the edges
were around 500 feet thick. The glacier moved very
slowly, sometimes only several feet a year. The edge
of the glacier often advanced in the winter, only
to partially melt back in the summer. Like a giant
bulldozer, the glacier scraped the land, removing
vegetation and soil, and flattening hills and ridges.
On the top, edges and underneath the glacier, ice
melted and flowed in rivers carrying sand, pebbles,
and boulders.
Near the glacier, the climate was very cold. The
annual temperature was 20° to 25° F cooler than the
current climate.
About 13,000 years ago, the Laurentide
Continental Glacier was at its greatest size, and
covered two-thirds of North America, including the
northeast and northwest corners of Pennsylvania.
Again the climate changed, becoming warmer,
and the giant blanket of ice quickly melted and
retreated. Animals and plants slowly repopulated the
warming lands, but many of the prehistoric animals
became extinct.
The Ice Ages
At least four ice advances, often called ice ages,
have moved south into Pennsylvania. Most of the
evidence of glaciers in Pennsylvania is from the
most recent advance, the Wisconsin Glacial Period.
About 70,000 years ago North America had a similar
climate to modern time. Familiar animals lived here,
Formation of the Pothole
A pothole usually is a hole that is worn into the
bedrock of a stream at the base of waterfalls or in
strong rapids. The moving water spins sand, gravel,
and rock fragments in any small indentation in the
bedrock. After enough time, the sand and stones
carve out an elliptical hole. Potholes may also form
under or near the edge of glaciers by
the action of glacial
meltwater.
Meltwater
Crevasse
A glacier covered Archbald Pothole
during the most recent ice advance.
Meltwater above and below the
glacier carved the pothole.
Meltwater
A slice of glacier
Crevasse
POTHOLE
water,
sand,
grave
l, and
rock d
Bedrock
ebris
Archbald Pothole was formed during the
Wisconsin Glacial Period between 30,000 and
11,000 years ago. A meltwater stream flowing on top
of the glacier probably broke through a crevasse (a
crack in the glacier) and fell to the bedrock hundreds
of feet below. There was enough force generated
by the falling water to begin a whirling motion of
rock fragments in a small depression. As the rock
fragments swirled and bumped each other, they
carved the bedrock, making the depression deeper
and larger. The rock fragments eventually were
reduced to tiny particles, but new rock fragments
continually tumbled into the hole, enabling the
grinding process to continue. As the glacier moved,
so did the crevasse and the waterfall. Sand, gravel,
and rounded stones filled in Archbald Pothole and
the waterfall moved off to make new potholes.
At Archbald Pothole, the water first wore away the
top layer of bedrock, which is sandstone. Next the
swirling water and rock carved through gray shale
leaving a particularly smooth and polished surface
that shows a typical, well-rounded, wavelike surface.
This feature is especially noticeable in the lower half
of the northern side of the pothole. The bottom layer
of bedrock is black anthracite coal.
The southern and western sides of the pothole
are nearly vertical, while the other two sides are
deeply terraced. This is evidence that the waterfall
that formed the pothole moved in a northeast and
southwest direction. It is unknown whether the
pothole formed during an advance or retreat of the
glacier.
Preserved underground by nature for around
13,000 years, the pothole was uncovered in 1884
and has been exposed to weathering. The sides of the
pothole are slowly eroding and are covered in ferns
and lichens.
Please help preserve this signature of
Pennsylvania’s glacial history. If you observe
someone vandalizing park property, please contact a
park official.
ARCHBALD POTHOLE STATE PARK
TO CARBONDALE
TO JERMYN
N
/ JERM
YN R O
AD
MAIN DAY USE AREA
EYNON
Turf Parking
BUS
6
TO SCRANTON
State Park No Hunting
State Park Hunting
440'
0
440' FEET
TO EYNON
ENLARGEMENT OF MAIN DAY USE AREA
Parking Area
Archbald
Pothole
TO BUS. US 6
Informational Wayside
Map by Wayne T. Fechter 12/02