Kenosha Sand Dunes EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

rogheff: pulling this cache before placing new caches.

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Hidden : 7/3/2007
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:


This Earthcache was prepared during a hike with my Scout Troop.

Lake Michigan was originally formed some 11,000 years ago when the Wisconsin glacier, the last glacier to cover this region during the Ice Age, began melting. As the mile-thick sheet of ice melted, it left Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes behind. Glacial melting was a very slow process. As it occurred there were many fluctuations and a general lowering of the resulting lake level. As many as seven successive shorelines were formed during this process, giving rise to beaches, sand dunes, and interdunal wetlands.

Today, four major dune complexes can be easily seen. Beginning with the present shoreline and moving inland into progressively older dunes, they include the present dune formation. The younger dune/shoreline area is still active and all stages of plant succession can be observed there. Open beaches, grass covered dune ridges, blowouts, dunes with woody shrub vegetation, pine-forested dunes, oak-forested dunes, oak savannas, and prairies all come together to form the tapestry that is the Kenosha Sand Dunes.

Lake Michigan still lies at the edge of this tapestry. Her wind, waves, lake currents, ice, and storms continually reshape the beaches, dune faces, and shoreline throughout the year. In summertime, gentler winds and smaller waves produce a wider, slightly sloping beach. The strong winds and high energy waves of winter create a narrower and steeper beach. Lake Michigan’s lake levels continue their natural fluctuation, and the shape of today’s beach continues to change, reminding us that the geologic story is really never-ending.

To Prove you were here, please tell me what the coordinates bring you before, what you're standing on and why. Send me the answer in an email - do not post it in your log.

The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to and approved by Thomas Meyer of the Wisconsin DNR. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resouce managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at: (visit link)

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