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This is about mid point for Fall Creek from Honey Creek to Indianapolis. It is obviously in the Fall Creek Valley. During its short journey Fall Creek displays all of the characteristics of many larger tributaries. From farmland irrigation, reservoir and park recreation, valley beauty, and a necessity for industy and development.
I was asked to move the requirements to the beginning of the description at an event I held. So here they are.
To claim this cache one must answer these questions, and post a picture of you or your GPS at Ground Zero.
1. How many support pylons are in the water under the bridge at the provided coordinates?
2. There is a sign to the left of the mens restroom at the nearby park. What is the message on the sign?
3. Estimate the width of the creek flowing under the bridge. How wide is it at this point?
4. How wide do you think it is east of the bridge at the cattle walk?
The answers to questions 3 and 4 will change with the seasons. Just estimate to your best guess. The cattle walk maintains a constant water supply upstream. Enjoy the park while you are here. There are several Traditional caches nearby, and two other Earthcaches.
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill; there is no general rule that defines what can be called a river.
The water in a river is usually confined to a channel, made up of a stream bed between banks. In larger rivers there is also a wider floodplain shaped by flood-waters over-topping the channel. Flood plains may be very wide in relation to the size of the river channel. This distinction between river channel and floodplain can be blurred especially in urban areas where the floodplain of a river channel can become greatly developed by housing and industry.
The term upriver refers to the direction leading to the source of the river, which is against the direction of flow. Likewise, the term downriver describes the direction towards the mouth of the river, in which the current flows. Rivers are always in a state of change. The surrounding topography is constantly being eroded. Transferring silt and debris and transforming lowlands. Fall Creek has many man made and natural dams during its course to Indianapolis.
Fall Creek is a non-navigable waterway in Indiana, and a tributary of the White River. It has a watershed drainage area of 318 square miles in central Indiana before flowing into the West Fork of the White River in Indianapolis. As it flows Southwest, Fall Creek is the namesake of three townships in Indiana, in Henry County, Madison County, and then Hamilton County.
Fall Creek begins near the town of Honey Creek, Indiana. Initially, it flows north, and crosses just into Delaware County, Indiana, near Bell Creek, another tributary of the White River, which joins the West Fork near Yorktown, Indiana. Here, Fall Creek turns sharply to the Southwest, crossing near Middletown, Indiana. Tributaries in Henry County include Honey Creek, Sugar Creek.
In Madison County, Indiana, Fall Creek joins with Sly fork in Adams Township. In Pendleton, Indiana, the creek joins Prairie Creek, and forms the basis of the 150 acre Fall Creek Park. Here, on 12 January 1825, the first execution of a white man for crimes against Native Americans in the United States was held when James Hudson was hanged for his role in the Fall Creek Massacre of 1824. Three small waterfalls are found in succession at the park, and at points the creek becomes wide and shallow enough to nearly walk across. Fall Creek then flows through the Pendleton Penetentary farm property. The Fall Creek Valley begins around this area.
Fall Creek joins Lick Creek just over the Hamilton County line. It crosses the Southeast corner of Hamilton County through Geist Reservoir. Geist Reservoir was named after Clarence Geist, a former owner of the Indianapolis Water Company who foresaw a deficit in Indianapolis's water supply, and envisioned Geist Reservoir to preemptively address the problem – but not without a casualty. Planning for the reservoir began as early as 1913, when hydraulic engineers estimated that White River and Fall Creek would not provide enough water for the increasing needs of Indianapolis. Geist gradually bought some 5,000 acres (20 km2) in Fall Creek Valley in the 1920s and 1930s, including the small town of Germantown, which today lies at the bottom of the reservoir.
Although controversial, the reservoir was completed in 1943, five years after Clarence Geist's death. In the 1960s further controversy arose over plans for commercial and residential development in the area around the lake. A proposal in the 1970s to triple the size of the reservoir was defeated, and a housing boom began in the lake area. In recent years the Geist area has experienced rapid growth. The area is noted for its unique topography and the reservoir. Upon completion, Geist Reservoir was the second largest lake in Indiana providing approximately seven billion gallons of water. Geist Reservoir has been in the news lately due to the blue-green algae scare. The lake is one of the best bass fisheries in the state. We've nick-named it "The Factory" because it keeps kicking out quality sacks of bass year after year despite the tremendous pressure it receives. What many people don't realize is its unique history. As one of our oldest reservoirs, and has been the center of some contentious debates and threats of annexation over the years. Who is Shorewood Corporation and how did they come to own all that land around the reservoir?
Below the reservoir, the creek continues, and flows through Fort Harrison State Park, where pedestrian nature trails follow the course of the trail. Beyond the park, a paved trail follows the creek through Indianapolis. Fall Creek is dammed again in Indianapolis, at Keystone Avenue and Binford Boulevard. At downtown Indianapolis, Fall Creek actually crosses the Indiana Central Canal before emptying into the West Fork of the White River at 10th Street and White River Parkway, near the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and across the street from the Veterans Administration hospital. Indianapolis is a planned city and was purposely located near the confluence of Fall Creek and White River; Fall Creek provided water power for early industrial development in the city.
Congratulations to dbbolling for the FTF.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)