Broxton Rocks

Broxton Rocks Stratigraphic range: Middle Miocene~42–5.2 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Broxton Rocks Waterfall
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Altamaha Formation
Underlies	Atlantic coastal plain
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Mudstone
Location
Coordinates	31°43′56″N 82°51′12″W / 31.7323°N 82.8533°W / 31.7323; -82.8533
Region	Broxton, Coffee County, Georgia
Country	United States
Extent	4 miles (6.4 km)
Type section
Named for	Broxton, Georgia
Named by	Huddleston

Broxton Rocks is the single largest exposure of sandstone, about 4 miles in extent, found in the Altamaha Grit, a subterranean band of sandstone that lies under some 15,000 square miles (38,850 square kilometres) of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.The Rocks, as it is referred to locally, consists of a series of cracks, pools, damp cliff walls, a 10-foot (3 meter) waterfall, and rugged outcrops up to 20 feet (6 meters) high, all carved into a shallow gorge over many centuries by Rocky Creek. The Broxton Rocks waterfall is Georgia's southernmost. A substantial part of the Broxton Rocks is a protected preserve (Broxton Rocks Preserve) of 3,799 acres (1,537 hectares), of which 1,528 acres (618 hectares) are managed by The Nature Conservancy. The preserve lies on a direct line from Atlanta, Georgia, 185 miles by road to the north-west, to Jacksonville, Florida, 145 miles by road to the south-east. Broxton Rocks is located at 31°43'56.25"N, 82°51'11.75"W (31.7323°N, 82.8533°W). The elevation is 243 feet (74 meters). Broxton Rocks is located in north-east Coffee County, Georgia.

Part of the Atlantic coastal plain, Broxton Rocks' sandstone layers were created by the slow erosion of the Altamaha Formation, dating from the Middle Miocene era. Fractures have opened up throughout the feature, some wide enough to allow a person to walk through, some narrow but deep. Where the waters of Rocky Creek, a first-order intermittent stream, drop to a lower level, a 10-foot (3 meter) waterfall has formed a pool in the sandstone before it flows out and through the lower reaches of the feature before draining into the Ocmulgee River.

Broxton Rocks is the home to about 530 plant species, several of which are threatened or endangered species. Included among these are the green-fly orchid, grit portulaca, silky creeping morning glory, Georgia plume, filmy fern and shoestring fern. Some species found here were thought to be extinct; several found here grow almost exclusively in other climates such as the tropics or Appalachian Mountains. In spring, flower species like flame azaleas and fameflower bring a blaze of color to the ravine. The preserve lies in an area of longleaf pine ecosystem which once stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern reaches of Texas. The Nature Conservancy seeks to restore the longleaf pine to the lands it manages in the preserve through ecological restoration.