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US-TVA?


Thomas D

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This is smack in the middle of a hiking trail at Short Springs State Natural Area, Tullahoma TN. (borders TVA Normandy Lake)

 

Just wondered about it for a couple years of stumbling over it! I googled a bit for it but came up empty.

 

A brass? marker abt. 3.5" square, set in a concrete square that is painted orange. It's pretty shinned up due to foot traffic over it.

 

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, I don't benchmark hunt, I just tripped over one!!!!

 

link to photo...

 

http://www.pbase.com/td2/image/73589007

 

Thanks

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Hi, Thomas,

 

An 8-mile radius search centered on the dam did not produce anything in the NGS database that matched the stamping on this marker. Obviously it is a TVA benchmark, but it does not correspond to the number pattern elsewhere in the vicinity.

 

For instance, it is quite common to see "NC" or "ND" followed by one or two digits. These are scattered throughout the area, including as far east as Bosworth Falls and Rainbow Falls. Another series is a cluster of three numbers, linked with dashes, such as "16-12-15". You will find some of these near the dam, and near Baker Falls.

 

If you look at the topo map (www.topozone.com, centered on N35 27 46, W86 14 25), you will see that the region is "peppered" with dozens of benchmarks. As you stumble across these, take a GPS reading and log them on Waymarking.COM (Recovered US Benchmarks), if they are not in the database at GEOCACHING.COM.)

 

By the way, I browsed your picture gallery. You are an excellent photographer! And it looks like you hang out with some great folks--including the cute kid who gives the impression that he's never met a challenge he wouldn't attempt!

 

-Paul-

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Hi, Thomas,

 

An 8-mile radius search centered on the dam did not produce anything in the NGS database that matched the stamping on this marker. Obviously it is a TVA benchmark, but it does not correspond to the number pattern elsewhere in the vicinity.

 

For instance, it is quite common to see "NC" or "ND" followed by one or two digits. These are scattered throughout the area, including as far east as Bosworth Falls and Rainbow Falls. Another series is a cluster of three numbers, linked with dashes, such as "16-12-15". You will find some of these near the dam, and near Baker Falls.

 

If you look at the topo map (www.topozone.com, centered on N35 27 46, W86 14 25), you will see that the region is "peppered" with dozens of benchmarks. As you stumble across these, take a GPS reading and log them on Waymarking.COM (Recovered US Benchmarks), if they are not in the database at GEOCACHING.COM.)

 

By the way, I browsed your picture gallery. You are an excellent photographer! And it looks like you hang out with some great folks--including the cute kid who gives the impression that he's never met a challenge he wouldn't attempt!

 

-Paul-

 

Thanks Paul for taking the time and the info, also the kind words! I'm no photographer... I just take pictures! Those Grandkids are my main hobby right now, and while only 2 live here locally, all 6 are quite wild!

This one...

http://www.pbase.com/td2/image/72095243/medium

took the training wheels off his bike at 3 and was riding like an old pro the next day!

In the photo he is in Kindergarten and It was only his 2nd time at a skate park. He's a pretty good tree climber also! LOL My wife is horrified... says he is going to break an arm or something... I say, yea probabally!

 

Anyway...

8 miles would have covered the area. I looked at my track and from that can estimated the position only as I did not mark it at the time. It sits roughly at W 35 24.6xx W86 10.6xx (WGS84) close as I can guesstimate. I'll mark it next time, I go there fairly often. It sits on the path from the Short Springs parking lot to Machine falls on high ground. I will ck out topozone.

 

I remember watching them built the Dam / lake. It was early 70's, Complete in '76.

The marker probally was placed after the land was purchased for the project or at least during the survey work for it. I really regret not having extensively photgraphed the build and the dry lake bed when finished before filling. Best I remember... they bulldozed everything clean down to the 50 foot line, houses, barns, trees etc. it was quite a sight! Documentation of that would have been of some value to the fisherman friends I know!

 

Thanks Again!!!!

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Well... something else to get involved with!

 

Went by today and got the mark as 35 24.732 086 10.770, I Avg the reading till the error estimate was 18 feet. (in tree cover)

 

Came home and put that in at topozone and it looks like a corner of the TVA property...

 

The mark is in the red circle.

 

http://www.pbase.com/td2/image/73631175

 

I think I have seen a mark for the spot where I drew a green circle also. There is a hole like the marker has been pulled up, in the hole someone stuck a rock loosely with about 6 inches sticking up and it is painted the orange or red sort of like the first marker.

 

So now I will enter the location of the other corners (circled in blue, plus a couple off the map that I linked to here) in to my GPSr and see if I find any more.

 

I am trying to map the trails in the area and can add this in if I ever get it mapped.

 

Thanks Guys!

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Hello Guys,

 

I'am new to the game of Geocaching, but as you can tell I'am a Surveyor with TVA. This corner that you have found is a TVA property corner. This is a standard type of monument that TVA used on most all TVA property corner that they set over the past 70+ years.

 

The numbers (5-34) start with the MAP number(5) of the reservoir and then the corner number (34) for that map.

 

Thanks for the interest in this type of monument. If you locate any more of this type on this reservoir or any TVA monument, please waymark the point and log with a picture and send me a message I will check from time to time.

 

There are thousands of monuments like this one over a SEVEN STATE AREA in the TVA service area.

 

Happy Waymarking!

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