Paper+Trail-Stop+2

**Stop #2- The Reflection Pool **
 Air Temperature: 34°F Soil Temperature: 37°F GPS Location: 34° 33.801' N, 84° 14.802' W 

Soils
 **Color (H V/C):** (10YR 4/4) Dark Yellowish Brown
 * Texture:** Sandy Clay Loam
 * Soil pH (and pH level):** 5.0 (strongly acidic)

Click Here for a satellite and topographic map of this GPS location

For our second stop of the day we chose a location known as the Reflection Pool. The reflection pool at Amicalola Falls State Park is located at the base of the 729 foot waterfall, so as you could imagine it yielded some amazing views of the very picturesque landscape (Waterfalls of North Georgia). This proved to be the last chance to take a quick breather before making the trek up the 600 or so stairs leading towards the top of the falls.  The reflection pool is itself manmade; evidence of this is shown in the picture at the top of the page by the retaining walls that surround the pool. Ground soils at this location are set alone by the thick, almost black layer of humus. This is an indication of very fertile soil high in nutrients. There are also many fluvial systems and processess that have been at work in this region for many years. Among them is fluvial erosion, or erosion due to gravitational effects on water moving downhill across a landscape (Arbogast 467-468). As is common in areas with waterfalls, the water downcuts into the terrain over time. You can see this on a small scale in the picture below. Look at the way the river bank seems to drop off as if it was cut.



The soil in this location can be classified by texture as a sandy clay loam. Loamy soils are generally good for agricultural purposes and promote fertility as they contain a balance of clay and sand. The clay sticks together and holds water while the sand allows water to drain. Due to a strongly acidic 5.0 pH reading the fertility of the soil in this location may suffer from excessive leaching. This leaching of minerals causes nutrients to be lost before plants can use them (Arbogast 307-310).

The reflection pool gave us a short break from the dramatic elevation changes seen pretty much everywhere else throughout the park. The reflection pool offers not only a place for relaxation before and after the aggressive hike up the falls, but also offers fun for anglers as the pool is stocked with rainbow trout and open for fishing at various times of the year (Waterfalls of North Georgia).



The name reflection pool most likely comes from the ponds ability to reflect an array of beautiful colors in the fall months as the leaves fall from the trees and float on the surface of the pool (Waterfalls of North Georgia). 
 * Question**: What fluvial process has been at work in this region for hundreds probably thousands of years?





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