The Mystery of Devil's Kettle Falls
By: Lana Kae
Where is it?
Devil's Kettle Falls can be found in Minnesota in the Judge C. R. Magney State Park.
What's so special about it?
The waterfall meets a large rock, and then splits in two. Now one side of the waterfall is visible as it flows to a pool at the bottom, while the other side vanishes into a pothole and no one knows where that pothole leads to.
Where does it Go?
Theory 1: the Limestone Cave
Some believe that there could be an underground water system leading the water to a river, since there are cave carved of limestone. However the nearest limestone to Judge C. R. Magney State Park is hundreds of mile away, in southern Minnesota, so an underground river of this sort doesn't seem to be a reasonable solution to the mystery.
Theory 2: the Lava Tube
Are there other ways to make caves without limestone? Yes, in fact there are. Much of the rock in the area is volcanic in nature it has been suggested that the solution to the Devil's Kettle mystery might be a lava tube. A lava tube is a cave formed by lava flowing down from a volcano. So, the theory is,maybe the water pouring into the pothole was able to drill down into the rock below deep enough to connect up with an old, existing lava tube. The problem is that even though rhyolite is a volcanic rock, it never forms lava tubes. Sadly, this is just a lucky coincidence
Theory 3: the Fault Line
Another theory is that there could be a fault line. Sometimes water can flow along a fault line. A fault line is a fracture in the rock caused by the movement of the earth. However, there is no indication of a fall line in the area of the fault line. Also, such a path could have been clogged up over the years with rocks, sand, logs, and other various things thrown into the falls.
Logical or Magical?
What Have we used to find out where it leads to?
Good question. Over the years, many people and scientists have dropped various things like logs,ping pong balls, cars, and GPS's to try and find out where it leads to.
Citations:
Danger, Tatiana. "Investigating the Mystery Behind Devil's Kettle Falls."Roadtrippers. Mapquest, 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
Swancer, Brant. "The Mystery of Devil's Kettle Falls." Mysterious Universe. Mysterious Universe, 5 Aug. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"The Mystery of Devil's Kettle Falls." Mother Nature Network. Narrative Content Group, 24 Dec. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.