As this is an
EarthCache there are special logging requirements and NO container
to find. Logs not meeting the posted requirements below may
be deleted.
Driftless: Natural Bridge
State Park
Natural Bridge State Park is located just a short drive from
Baraboo. While a state park sticker is required to enter the park,
if you plan your trip in advance and get an early start you can
also visit nearby Devil's Lake and Parfrey's Glen all on the same
one day pass. Natural Bridge State Park has been a tourist
attraction since 1870 and is currently managed by the DNR. It was
designated a State Natural Area in 1973.
A
trail map of the park can be found
HERE. There are three routes to the Arch. Walking from the
Northwest corner of the parking lot you will come to an
intersection (the trail is a loop passing the arch). Taking the
left is the shortest route to the Arch at 0.20 miles. Taking the
right is a bit longer (0.45 miles) and features a scenic overlook.
You could also take the trailhead at the Southwest end of the
parking lot which will pass by a log cabin and smokehouse (0.35
miles).
As
this park is a State Natural Area please STAY ON TRAIL.
The listed Coordinates are for the Arch
and Shelter.
The
park is on the edge of the Baraboo Range in an unglaciated,
driftless area of south-central Wisconsin.
The
Driftless Area of Wisconsin is well known for its peculiar terrain
as it escaped glaciation in the most recent ice age and is
surrounded by glaciated territory. The area shows what the rest of
Wisconsin, as well as the northern and eastern United States, were
like before the Glacial Period.
The
term "driftless" indicates a lack of "glacial drift," which is the
material left behind by retreating continental glaciers. The
Driftless Area covers an area of nearly 15,000 square miles, 13,360
square miles of which lie in Wisconsin. This region includes
elevations ranging from 603 to 1,450 feet.
Glaciers most recently flowed
into Wisconsin about 25,000 years ago and covered approximately
two-thirds of the State for about 14,000 to 16,000 years before
melting back. The retreat of the ice was stalled several times by
readvances; the last one touched northwestern Wisconsin about
10,000 years ago. Floods of meltwater released from the retreating
glaciers and the draining from glacial lakes cut spectacular gorges
in several areas of the State.
Natural Bridge State Park
contains the largest natural bridge known in Wisconsin. The arch
which is made up of Cambrian-age sandstone deposited by a shallow
inland sea 530 million years ago, was created by wind erosion and
weathering of the sandstone. Directly beneath the arch is a rock
shelter once used by Paleo-Indians between 10 and 12 thousand years
ago making the site, "one of the oldest dated sites for human
occupancy in northeastern North America," according to a sign in
the park.
Logging
Requirements:
(DO NOT LEAVE THE TRAIL)
E-Mail me:
1. Estimate the height of the arch
2. Estimate the length of the underside of the
arch.
Uploaded pictures are greatly appreciated and a way to
thank the cache developer as well as encourage others to
visit.
Resources:
http://www.wisconline.com/wisconsin/geoprovinces/westernupland.html
http://www.nps.gov/archive/iatr/expanded/history.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Bridge_State_Park_(Wisconsin)
The Geocache
Notification Form has been submitted to Thomas A. Meyer
Conservation Biologist, State Natural Areas Program. Geocaches
placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource 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:
http://www.wi-geocaching.com/modules.php?name=Wiki&pagename=Hiding%20A%20Cache