Archbald Pothole State Park

About Archbald Pothole State Park

Archbald Pothole State Park is a 150-acre park in northeastern Pennsylvania, and it is named after a geological feature that has formed in the area of the park near the town of Archb Bald, Pennsylvania on the Pennsylvania-New York State border.

The pothole has an elliptical shape and is about 1.50 meters deep, but its diameter is decreasing downwards. It is estimated that it will be about 40 feet wide and 30 feet long, with an average depth of about 10 feet.

The largest diameter is 42 by 24 feet, with an average depth of 17 feet (14 feet), which is embedded in the ground.

The Archbald pothole was discovered by coal miner Patrick Mahon while he was working on a mine shaft. When an explosion of explosives, he fired, water and stones flew into the hole, as well as a large number of stones. The potholes have an average depth of 17 feet (14 feet) and a diameter of 42 by 24 feet, so 35 tankers would be needed to fill them. If so, they could each hold about 140,000 gallons, and each has a maximum capacity of 1.5 million gallons of water per tanker.

The miners fled, fearing the mountain might fall on them, and Edward Jones, the manager of the mining company, ordered and inspected to clear the area of debris.

Mr Jones realised the vertical tunnel was bigger than the pothole, so he dug it out and removed it. He thought it was the largest of the first potholes and found it, but it was dug up and he removed the other two, the second and the third.

The pothole was used briefly as a ventilation shaft for the mine and a large fire burning in the ground sucked air from the mines and made them work like a chimney.

In 1887, the landowner Colonel Hackley built a fence and retaining wall around the hole and in 1892 a stone wall.

The pothole became a popular tourist attraction and Edward Jones, a citizen and well-known geologist, offered many guided tours of the potholes.

In 1914, Colonel Hackley's widow gave a one-acre document to the Reformed Historical Society of Lackawanna, which included the pothole. With an extension to 150 acres in the 1940s, Archbald Potholes became a park in Lackawanna County. In 1961 the county transferred the property to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and after some improvements it was inaugurated as Arch Baldpole State Park in 1964.

A small circular trail that begins at the edge of the path follows an old coal mine railway past rocky outcrops into the forest. The park is crossed by a terminal moraine, and severe storms during the last ice age caused a collapse of a large ice sheet and the formation of glaciers in the area.

Access to Hickory Run State Park is via I-80 Exit 274, PA 534 east into the park, then PA-534 west to Exit 270 on the east side of the freeway.

The Seven Tubs Hotel, owned by the Lucerne County, is located at exit 164 of I-81, and the park is on the right. Follow PA-115 South for 2.5 miles and take Exit 270 on the east side of the freeway. Meltwater has eroded the rocks and created a series of potholes in the area, now called the Whirlpool Valley.

This 150-acre wetland is the southernmost low-lying bog on the East Coast and is home to the largest freshwater bog in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The moor belongs to the nature protection and can only be visited on a planned tour, but it is worth it.

Archbald Pothole is located on the eastern edge of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles
east of Philadelphia. The park entrance is five miles to the right and is easily accessible from Interstate 81. Take Exit 191A from Business US 6 East in Carbondale and exit at the intersection of US-6 East and Route 1.