For a while now I’ve wanted to visit the White Cliffs of Epes, Alabama, which were created around the same time as the far more famous White Cliffs of Dover. Today was a beautiful autumn day that begged for some kind of adventure, so I sallied forth — solo, because it was rather out of the way (near the Mississippi border) and I didn’t know of anyone who would be interested in driving all that way to look at cliffs.
The best approach I could see was to park a ways off, then walk onto the bridge (US-11 passes over the Tombigbee River at this point) and admire them from there. I also saw a way down to the formations themselves, however. They’re littered with rocks which leave a chalky residue on the hands.
Wow. This looks like a great place to visit. I am in Alabama on business occasionally and not too far from this location so I may try to visit this place.
Not far from this is “Bird Farm”, a bizaare rural art exhibit. Definitely worth taking a look as well.
https://www.ruralswalabama.org/attraction/birds-farm-at-forkland-al/
are they fragile like the ones in England? any fossils?
I don’t know if the cliffs themselves are fragile, but the smaller rocks didn’t feel particularly sturdy. I’m not sure if the area has a fossil record. I’ll do some poking!
Done some looking:
http://www.fossilspot.com/STATES/AL.HTM
All those sites listed as “Eutaw” would be of interest, because Eutaw and Epes are very near each other.
brachiopods and echinoderms!! yum… not that i’ll ever get there, but it’s good to know some geologist is exploring the area… tx for looking it up!
You’re welcome! There’s also a substantial crater over in Wetumpka — north of the capital city Montgomery — which I’ve tried to find a good vantage point of before. It’s heavily forested and on private land, so to date I’ve only been able to wander around aimlessly. Next time I’ll go during a period when the city is active and ask a local!
That’s lovely…looks like you got there at the right time, too, with that golden light. I had no idea we had white cliffs in the U.S.!
I’ve heard that there are cliffs remniscient of that a landing on the Alabama river, which seems unlikely but I will check it out. There’s also an abandoned church nearby, though it’s on private land. (I have a friend who does land/property surveying, so he often stumbles upon things of interest!)