Overview: On Sunday, November 2, my husband and I took a long walk at West Point on the Eno, a 388-acre park bordering the Eno River in Durham, NC. Our walk emphasized local geology and was taken from an excellent publication produced by the North Carolina Geologic Survey (see pages 49–56 for the guide to West Point on the Eno):
Bradley, P. J. 2007. A Geologic Adventure Along the Eno River, Information Circular 35. North Carolina Geologic Survey: Raleigh, North Carolina. 65 p.
During our hike, we used three trails: the South River Trail (0.52 miles), Sennett Hole Trail (0.15 miles one way), and the Buffalo Trail (0.40 miles) (see trail map). These trails not only revealed fascinating rocks and minerals, but also yielded beautiful trees ablaze with fall color and some fun animal sightings.
Directions: West Point on the Eno is located at 5101 N. Roxboro Road in north Durham. The geology hike described by Bradley (2007) begins at the West Point Mill, an obvious landmark located to the north of the parking areas.
Observations: Geology Hike
The geology hike begins at the West Point Mill, a once-thriving center for Durham that was in operation from 1778 until 1942. Standing near the mill, it’s hard not to think about Durham’s history—and about the many ways people shape rivers. In the rocky area beside the large mill wheel, careful observers may spot watersnakes (Nerodia spp.) and queen snakes (Regina septemvittata) swimming or basking.
The next stop (Stop 2) is Turtle Rock, which overlooks the Eno River and, true to its name, almost always offers turtles basking on fallen logs in the water. Turtle Rock itself is an outcropping of felsic tuff—600-million-year-old volcanic ash that has been folded and refolded over time. Up close, the felsic tuff at Turtle Rock is surprisingly handsome, with texture and banding that rewards a slow look.
Stop 3 highlights floodplain cobbles and gravel along the South River Trail, while Stop 4 impresses with deep red quartz cobbles—the kind of rocks that make you want to pick them up and turn them over in your hands.
Stop 5 displays a line of rounded diabase boulders. Diabase intruded along the Eno River during the Triassic period as Pangea split apart (Bradley, 2007). This same diabase helps explain the unusual geology—and ecology—of Penny’s Bend east of West Point on the Eno, where a prairie community thrives in the more basic soil formed from the diabase sill.
After the diabase boulders, the hike continues along beautiful Warren Creek and points out floodplain deposits of boulders, cobbles, sand, and silt (Stops 6a & 6b). From there, the route crosses the creek onto the Sennett Hole Trail and brings you to Sennett Hole (see previous posting), a lovely place to sit with a picnic lunch.
After a brief respite at Sennett Hole, the hike heads back to Warren Creek, where you join the Buffalo Trail. Stops 8 and 9 highlight deposits of tuff and granodiorite, an igneous rock similar to granite. Stop 10 is one of those quiet delights: hydrothermal quartz tinted red and pink by iron—like a mineral blush that makes the rock look almost warm.
The final stop on the geology hike (Stop 11) explains the origins of several large diabase boulders near Meadow Branch Creek. These boulders were actually brought to West Point on the Eno from a nearby quarry.
Observations: Trees + Other Sightings
Besides enjoying the geologic story of West Point on the Eno, our hike also afforded us the opportunity to revel in fall color and identify more than 35 species of trees and large shrubs. An alphabetical list (by scientific name) is provided below:
box elder (Acer negundo)
black maple (Acer nigrum)
red maple (Acer rubrum)
river birch (Betula nigra)
musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana)
mockernut hickory (Carya alba)
ironwood (Carya virginiana)
sugarberry (Celtis laevigata)
eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
dogwood (Cornus florida)
persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
American beech (Fagus grandifolia)
green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
American holly (Ilex opaca)
black walnut (Juglans nigra)
red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
red mulberry (Morus rubra)
sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
loblolly pine (Pinus taega)
American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
black cherry (Prunus serotina)
white oak (Quercus alba)
southern red oak (Quercus falcata)
swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii)
water oak (Quercus nigra)
willow oak (Quercus phellos)
northern red oak (Quercus rubra)
post oak (Quercus stellata)
sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
winged elm (Ulmus alata)
mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
Along the way, we admired a berry-laden American holly (Ilex opaca) and spent time with a stately swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii).
Mark and I were also fortunate to find a late-season queen snake (Regina septemvittata) near the old mill, which we happily shared with a boy and his father. Another memorable find was a wheel bug (Arilus cristatus). Wheel bugs are named for the wheel-like “armor” on their backs. They feed on caterpillars and Japanese beetles—piercing prey with their beak, paralyzing it, and then slurping up the dissolved insides—making them a beneficial insect in gardens. But be careful: they can deliver a relatively painful bite if handled.
Sense of Place 