Gravestones (a.k.a. headstones / tombstones) in modern American cemeteries are usually made of "granite" - a term in the retail trade for any hard stone that will take a fine polish. Geologically, some are granites and some are not. The gravestone seen here is composed of porphyritic granite - it has a mix of large and small crystals, which formed by two cooling rates (slow cooling of magma followed by quicker cooling).
This is the burial site of William Floyd Collins, "the greatest cave explorer ever known". He died in Sand Cave, near the southern boundary of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. On 30 January 1925, while descending through a narrow opening, his leg got trapped. Despite a monumental rescue effort, he died there. Collins was initially buried at the surface, but his body later resided in Crystal Cave, which he owned and operated. Crystal Cave is not open to modern tourists. A metal casket, now mostly disintegrated, is present inside the Crystal Cave entrance. The occupied casket actually rested atop a large flat rock at "Grand Canyon", at the intersection of Collins Avenue and Dyer Avenue in Crystal Cave. In the 1980s, Collins' body was moved to Mammoth Cave Cemetery.
Locality: Mammoth Cave Cemetery, northern side of Flint Ridge Road, Flint Ridge, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA
----------------------------
Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Collins
Tags: Mammoth Cave Cemetery Flint Ridge Road National Park Kentucky gravestone gravestones porphyritic granite William Floyd Collins caves graveyard graveyards tombstone tombstones headstone headstones
Gravestones (a.k.a. headstones / tombstones) in modern American cemeteries are usually made of "granite" - a term in the retail trade for any hard stone that will take a fine polish. Geologically, some are granites and some are not. The gravestone seen here is composed of porphyritic granite - it has a mix of large and small crystals, which formed by two cooling rates (slow cooling of magma followed by quicker cooling).
This is the burial site of William Floyd Collins, "the greatest cave explorer ever known". He died in Sand Cave, near the southern boundary of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. On 30 January 1925, while descending through a narrow opening, his leg got trapped. Despite a monumental rescue effort, he died there. Collins was initially buried at the surface, but his body later resided in Crystal Cave, which he owned and operated. Crystal Cave is not open to modern tourists. A metal casket, now mostly disintegrated, is present inside the Crystal Cave entrance. The occupied casket actually rested atop a large flat rock at "Grand Canyon", at the intersection of Collins Avenue and Dyer Avenue in Crystal Cave. In the 1980s, Collins' body was moved to Mammoth Cave Cemetery.
Locality: Mammoth Cave Cemetery, northern side of Flint Ridge Road, Flint Ridge, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA
----------------------------
Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Collins
Tags: Mammoth Cave Cemetery Flint Ridge Road National Park Kentucky gravestone gravestones porphyritic granite William Floyd Collins caves graveyard graveyards tombstone tombstones headstone headstones
Gravestones (a.k.a. headstones / tombstones) in modern American cemeteries are usually made of "granite" - a term in the retail trade for any hard stone that will take a fine polish. Geologically, some are granites and some are not. The gravestone seen here is composed of porphyritic granite - it has a mix of large and small crystals, which formed by two cooling rates (slow cooling of magma followed by quicker cooling).
This is the burial site of William Floyd Collins, "the greatest cave explorer ever known". He died in Sand Cave, near the southern boundary of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. On 30 January 1925, while descending through a narrow opening, his leg got trapped. Despite a monumental rescue effort, he died there. Collins was initially buried at the surface, but his body later resided in Crystal Cave, which he owned and operated. Crystal Cave is not open to modern tourists. A metal casket, now mostly disintegrated, is present inside the Crystal Cave entrance. The occupied casket actually rested atop a large flat rock at "Grand Canyon", at the intersection of Collins Avenue and Dyer Avenue in Crystal Cave. In the 1980s, Collins' body was moved to Mammoth Cave Cemetery.
Locality: Mammoth Cave Cemetery, northern side of Flint Ridge Road, Flint Ridge, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA
----------------------------
Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Collins
Tags: Mammoth Cave Cemetery Flint Ridge Road National Park Kentucky gravestone gravestones porphyritic granite William Floyd Collins caves graveyard graveyards tombstone tombstones headstone headstones
Gravestones (a.k.a. headstones / tombstones) in modern American cemeteries are usually made of "granite" - a term in the retail trade for any hard stone that will take a fine polish. Geologically, some are granites and some are not. The gravestone seen here is composed of porphyritic granite - it has a mix of large and small crystals, which formed by two cooling rates (slow cooling of magma followed by quicker cooling).
This is the burial site of William Floyd Collins, "the greatest cave explorer ever known". He died in Sand Cave, near the southern boundary of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. On 30 January 1925, while descending through a narrow opening, his leg got trapped. Despite a monumental rescue effort, he died there. Collins was initially buried at the surface, but his body later resided in Crystal Cave, which he owned and operated. Crystal Cave is not open to modern tourists. A metal casket, now mostly disintegrated, is present inside the Crystal Cave entrance. The occupied casket actually rested atop a large flat rock at "Grand Canyon", at the intersection of Collins Avenue and Dyer Avenue in Crystal Cave. In the 1980s, Collins' body was moved to Mammoth Cave Cemetery.
Locality: Mammoth Cave Cemetery, northern side of Flint Ridge Road, Flint Ridge, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA
----------------------------
Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Collins
Tags: Mammoth Cave Cemetery Flint Ridge Road National Park Kentucky gravestone gravestones porphyritic granite William Floyd Collins caves graveyard graveyards tombstone tombstones headstone headstones
Gravestones (a.k.a. headstones / tombstones) in modern American cemeteries are usually made of "granite" - a term in the retail trade for any hard stone that will take a fine polish. Geologically, some are granites and some are not. The gravestone seen here is composed of porphyritic granite - it has a mix of large and small crystals, which formed by two cooling rates (slow cooling of magma followed by quicker cooling).
This is the burial site of William Floyd Collins, "the greatest cave explorer ever known". He died in Sand Cave, near the southern boundary of Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. On 30 January 1925, while descending through a narrow opening, his leg got trapped. Despite a monumental rescue effort, he died there. Collins was initially buried at the surface, but his body later resided in Crystal Cave, which he owned and operated. Crystal Cave is not open to modern tourists. A metal casket, now mostly disintegrated, is present inside the Crystal Cave entrance. The occupied casket actually rested atop a large flat rock at "Grand Canyon", at the intersection of Collins Avenue and Dyer Avenue in Crystal Cave. In the 1980s, Collins' body was moved to Mammoth Cave Cemetery.
Locality: Mammoth Cave Cemetery, northern side of Flint Ridge Road, Flint Ridge, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA
----------------------------
Info. at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Collins
Tags: Mammoth Cave Cemetery Flint Ridge Road National Park Kentucky gravestone gravestones porphyritic granite William Floyd Collins caves graveyard graveyards tombstone tombstones headstone headstones