Vernal Pool
A
cache
by plumb69
Hidden:
8/23/2008
Size:
 (Small)
Difficulty: 
Terrain: 
(1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)
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This cache is being placed for the Sandown Town Forest Expansion
Event.
The Cache is NOT at the posted coordinates.
The posted coordinates will bring you to a Vernal Pool.
Information About Vernal Pools
Physical description of a vernal pool
A vernal pool is a contained basin depression lacking a permanent
above ground outlet. In the Northeast, it fills with water with the
rising water table of fall and winter or with the meltwater and
runoff of winter and spring snow and rain. Many vernal pools in the
Northeast are covered with ice in the winter months. They contain
water for a few months in the spring and early summer. By late
summer, a vernal pool is generally (but not always) dry.
Vernal pools may be found in a variety of different locations.
Biological description of a vernal pool
A vernal pool, because of its periodic drying, does not support
breeding populations of fish. Many organisms have evolved to use a
temporary wetland which will dry but where they are not eaten by
fish. These organisms are the "obligate" vernal pool species, so
called because they must use a vernal pool for various parts of
their life cycle. If the obligate species are using a body of
water, then that water is a vernal pool. In New England, the easily
recognizable obligate species are the fairy shrimp, the mole
salamanders and the wood frog.
Obligate vernal pool species
Fairy shrimp are small (about 1 inch) crustaceans which spend their
entire lives ( a few weeks) in a vernal pool. Eggs hatch in late
winter/early spring and adults may be observed in pools in the
spring. Females eventually drop an egg case which remains on the
pool bottom after the pool dries. The eggs pass through a cycle of
drying and freezing, and then hatch another year when water
returns. The presence of fairy shrimp indicates that a water body
is a vernal pool.
Wood frogs are an amphibian species of upland forests. They
venture to vernal pools in early spring, lay their eggs, and return
to the moist woodland for the remainder of the year. The tadpoles
develop in the pool and eventually follow the adults to adjacent
uplands. The presence of evidence of breeding by wood frogs
(chorusing or mating adults, egg masses or tadpoles) indicates that
a pool is a vernal pool.
The mole salamanders are also upland organisms. They spend most of
their lives in burrows on the forest floor. Annually, on certain
rainy nights, they migrate to ancestral vernal pools to mate and
lay their eggs. They soon return to the upland. The eggs develop in
the pool and, by the time the pool dries, the young emerge to begin
their life as a terrestrial animal. Evidence that mole salamanders
breed in an area make that water body a vernal pool. Breeding
evidence would be a breeding congress, spermatophores, egg masses
or larvae.
For more information visit VernalPool.com
(visit link)
This is the source of the above information.
The Cache can be found at 169 ft 269 degrees from the posted
coordinates.
IF YOU SIGNED THE LOG IN THE BISON TUBE THAT IS NOT THE CACHE AND
YOUR LOG WILL BE DELETED.
THE ACTUAL CACHE IS A SMALL LOCK-N-LOCK.
Additional Hints (
No hints available
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(Decrypted Hints)
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Logged Visits (
49 total. Visit the Gallery (6 images)
)
Warning.
Spoilers may be included in the descriptions or links.
Cache find counts are based on the last time the page generated.
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 November 4 by Hipointer and Capiti (7491 found)
First time visiting this forest. Decided to go right for the puzzle cache. Followed a trail for awhile and then bushwhacked to the cache area. Looked around for a bit and then Capiti spotted it nearby in a winter friendly place. Thanks for the challenge!
[view this log] | August 28 by The Hampstead Beagle (224 found)
What a great day caching.TFTC, SL, The Hampstead Beagles
[view this log] | June 28 by jajast (341 found)
After finding the GZ pretty quickly. Off we went. Two groups in two different directions. While stomping around to where I thought it was I heard the king say what is that to your right. A small lock and lock I said. Doh!! TFTC
[view this log] | June 28 by two ninjas and mom (284 found)
LOL - what a funny find for us....."Hey, whats that over there?""Oh that- that's a small lock-n-lock" - just like that lol TFTC
[view this log] | June 28 by 4 Queens and a King (452 found)
Neat little puzzle cache.....enjoyed the concept on this one.We found the ground zero and then the next spot pretty easily but spent a little time looking for the container till a eureka moment. TFTC
[view this log] | |
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Current time: 11/22/2009 12:12:27 PM
Last Updated: 11/4/2009 11:21:32 PM
Rendered: From Database
Coordinates are in the WGS84 datum
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