I went exploring travertine formations in Sheep Creek in the Arbuckle Mountains (Pontonoc County, OK) with Jona Tucker and Kevin Blackwood on Tuesday.
Travertine formation is a very interesting phenomena, limestone precipitating from the water wherever it finds a suitable substrate. It is a combination of chemistry and physical processes with biological and ecological. Travertine is a form of limestone, where calcium carbonate may be relatively rapidly precipitated from the water and build up to form rock formations. Turner Falls near Davis, OK is a 77′ waterfall formed by travertine (Turner Falls Park).
We were inspired to make the trip by @JoeWheaton’s (May 20, 2020) description of beaver dams that had been covered by travertine in Spawn Creek in Utah. Jona thought we might find something similar in Sheeps Creek.
Its possible that beaver may have contributed to some of the travertine steps we saw, but didn’t see any definitive travertine beaver structures. We saw some evidence of current beaver activity, but not a lot.
Jona feels that there were more beaver activity the last time she was there several years ago. Major storms and high flows of the last several years may have cleared out beaver and their dams.
We did see a small traverine dam formed in a concrete culvert under a road overpass; about half the dam width is travertine, and half is currently active beaver-formed. In the photo below, to the left of the diagonal log is travertine, to the right are beaver-placed sticks that extend the dam.
We also saw many examples of fallen trees or tree roots that had become the precipitation structure for travertine, even in places where a leaf was beginning to be incorporated.
