The Marine Terrace Ecological Staircase
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This Earth Cache will provide a hike & beautiful Coastal woodlands of multiple types, it will also provide you with a Geological history lesson of a Unique body of land known to exist as a Marine Terrace. It will guide you over 3 terraces of 100 ft each of Elev. change
There are 5 distinctive Terraces all of which support its own unique eco-system spreading inland about 3 miles.
The 1st Terrace will begin at the Beach of course, representing the newest formations and freshest soil. The final and oldest Terrace ending in Jackson State Forest.
We will be covering 3 of those 5 terraces in the process of this journey...It will take approx. 3 hrs, covering 2.5 miles (5 mi total) to the loops end at the Pygmy Forest, which is another geological oddity in itself!
Terrace's are created during a period of time when a large body of water was present at a particular location. These Terraces here at Jughandle were created by wave action against sandstone cliffs and land uplift due to the meeting and converging of Techtonic plates. These Terrace's are unusually preserved and distinct making it "one of the best places in the world for studying terrace formation"
As you are walking through the "Geological staircase" You will be walking through a beautiful forest and it may be hard to identify the geological changes. The changes are apparent in the changing plant life and soil types supporting different eco-systems, aswell as in elevational changes you will be monitoring with your GPS.
The Pamphlet avail at the beginning "Beach" trailhead will show you along 40 points along this trail, but with little geological information. (The bridge at the trail is currently closed...starting point will still be toward the end of the 1st terrace from "Highway" trailhead. You will eneter the Pygmy Forest Trail at approx Marker #16- Pamphlet is avail at "Beach" trailhead Loc)
At #16, there are interesting features here that differentiate between the rest of the forest, they will be apparent in the Pamphlet provided at the "Beach" Trailhead location...You need to know whats different here and why! (you may skip this stage, should there be a LACK of pamphlets.
At Marker #18 you will have reached the 2nd terrace and the only evidence will be the changing plant community which is dominated by Sitka Spruce, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Tan Bark Oak, Hairy Manzanita, Rhodedendron, Salal, Huckleberry and Sword Ferns. Heading Further inland, Redwoods will begin to appear.
Once you have reached Marker #30, You will have reached the 300,000 Year old Terrace and will be walking on Ancient ground indeed!- You will need to tell me what lays at Marker #30 and why its color is different than others in its species...Its Cool and one of a few of its like here.
It is here, where your dedication will pay off as you will be standing at the beginning of a Pygmy Forest! The Pygmy Forest occur ONLY in isolated patches of Northern California where Wave-Cut terraces have remained flat over hundreds of thosands of years of uplift. Over time, the minerlas in the soil leach down to a depth of about 18 inches where the iron particles collect and form a hard, impenetrable layer. The top layer is eventually nearly white having lost its mineral content. No new soil is created and there is no higher terrace to drain in. The top-soil is highly acidic at more than 1000 times that of a Redwood Forest and the hard near surface layer prevents deep root growth. This is the enviroment that these tree's struggle with, adapting by growing very slow and compact.
A Hundred year old tree will be but a few inches in diameter and couple feet tall. Pygmy Cypress, Bolander Pine, Bishop Pine, Rhodedendron, Salal, Huckleberry and Manzanita grow here. Observe the plants in the Pygmy forest as "less robust" as the same plants found earlier on the trail. The ground and tree's are covered by many species of Lichen due to the availability of light and moist climate and clean air...The soil lichens help avoid erosion from water movement.
Essentially the Pygmy forest is in itself a "Bog" that the soil never really dries out beneath the surface. The plants must be able to tolerate low oxygen levels in the soil, beacuse when the soil is wet, the water replaces the oxygen in the soil "spore" spaces...Since all plants take in Oxygen and give off Carbon Dioxide, most plantscannot live in a low Oxygen enviroment or wet Soil. Another interesting feature is that the Pygmy Cypress, Bolander Pine and Fort Bragg Manzanita to to be more restricted to the Pygmy forest due to their inability to compete well with other species.
Make your way to the Earth Caches listed coordinates and finish gathering the information as listed below:
In order to log this Earth Cache you will need to get familiar with your GPS device, gather various information along the trail and provide me with info and characteristics at the listed coordinates. We'll start at the beginning~
1. Get a Pamphlet at "Beach" Trailhead Location and proceed to "Highway" Trailhead locaion located just North of the bridge NE of "Beach" Trailhead (if no pamphlets are avail, please proceed, neglecting step 3) ~ When bridge work is completed and trail from Beach to the Pygmy forest trail is avail, we will start at the beach, for now we will start at the "Highway Trailhead"
2.RESET your track log on our GPS and start a new Track log from either Trailhead location. We will be monitoring the elevational change and visually be able to SEE the terraces throughout the elevational track log on our GPS units...You will need to either Take a picture of the elevational track log when complete, showing the elevational changes throuout the hike OR download it into your log as a picture. (You can save this log when you reach the listed coordinates OR upon return, saving the entire Track log of the round trip- you may also start at the top, tracking the elev. change on the way down) This may take further "getting to know your GPS", but in the end you will see the 300,000 years of terraces you have just crossed, aswell as incorporate a usefull feature in your GPS unit that you may not have known you had. (AGAIN... You may just take a pic of the screen, if you cannot download the file) **** It may not be possible to complete this step, should your memory be full or unable to access ths feature- I will accept a general location such as marker #,etc and current elevation, stating obvious terrace location from avail info. should a track log be unavailable****
3. At Marker #16 to #17 (end of the 1st Terrace) on the Pygmy Forest Trail tell me what is different here than the rest of the entire forest! Something isnt right!- Youll need the Pamphlet or some Native Know-How (skip if pamphlet is unavail)
4. Upon the 300,000 year old terrace at Marker #30, please tell me what is in front of you, aswell as why it is the color that is and what color it is- Youll need the Pamphlet, but is obvious what it is without it- There are only a few of this species here in the pygmy forest and prevelant elsewhere in this region.
5. Stand at the listed Earth Cache coordinates and provide me with:
a. What this location is registered as
b. What this particular site "posesses"
c. The date at which it was Land marked
d. A picture of YOURSELF within the Pygmy Forest - You do not have to be holding your GPS :) (If you do not have a camera, please provide a detailed description of ANY part of this Pygmy forest whatever it may be.
YOUR DONE!!! Hope you enjoyed the Geological features of the Marine Terraces at Jughandle State Park, aswell as the unique Pygmy forest that resides here... Dont forget to grab the caches within the Pygmy Forest aswell as on the way up! Please do not leave the designated trail in the Pygmy Forest as the immediate lichen covered ground is extremely sensitive to intrusion. THANK YOU and Have fun~ There is no way you wont!
Till Next Time~ CACHE HARD and CACHE ON!
"Beach" Trailhead and Parking (to obtain pamphlet): 39.22.515 123.48.996
"Highway" Trailhead and Parking (to access Pygmy forest trail: N39*22.716 W.123*48.907
Additional Hints
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