Hitaga
Sand Ridge Prairie Cache___
___
This is the March Featured cache celebrating the Linn County
Conservation's 50th Anniversary activities
In 2008, the Linn County Conservation Board will celebrate 50
years of service to Linn County residents. A yearlong celebration
is planned to highlight all the outdoor recreation opportunities
available right here in Linn County. In celebration of Linn County
Conservation's 50th Anniversary there will be 50 GeoCaches placed
within various parks and recreation areas in the next year. Some of
the caches will reveal a "clue" that will enable you to be eligible
for a special prize drawing at the end of the season (December
2008).There is one featured cache each month.
This is the March featured cache so look for the clue.
Additional information can be obtained from the Linn County Parks Website and
the Iowa
Geocachers Website.
Hitaga Sand Ridge
Prairie Preserve is a diverse area. There is a good example of a
sand prairie complete with a very rare Iowa species - the plains
prickly pear cactus. The remainder of the 156-acre property has
examples of restored prairie, mature timber and moist woodlands. A
trail is planned for the preserve.Hitaga Sand Ridge Preserve was
purchased in 1991 at a cost of $100,000 with a grant from the
Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program.It is one of
only six or seven other places like it in Iowa that has actively
moving sand dunes. These sand dunes provide habitat to certain
types of plants and animals such as the prickly pear cacti, rough
blazing star and ornate box turtles.The area has changed owners
over the last century but was always referred to as "the peanut
farm" due to it's sandy soils.
This is the
rock that you are looking for. The cache is very near the rock
and is a standard ammo can. The usual stuff is inside along
with some travel bugs that need moved. The walk will be about
0.4 miles.
When you near the cache be on the lookout for an interesting big
rock! This is known as a Glacial Erratic. A little information on
these:A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that deviates from the
size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests; the
name "erratic" is based on the errant location of these boulders.
These rocks were carried to their current locations by glacial ice,
often over hundreds of kilometres. Erratics can range in size from
pebbles to large boulders such as Big Rock (16,500 tons) in
Alberta. Geologists identify erratics by studying the rocks
surrounding the position of the erratic and the composition of the
erratic itself.
Here is another
"big rock" that used to reside in Linn County.This big rock was
once located at Squaw Creek Park.The boulder was located on the
south bank of Squaw Creek, west of Stange Road on what would become
the golf course. It is thought that the boulder was possibly from
as far north as Canada and was pre-Cambrian. The boulder often was
the subject of class field trips because of its spectacular
"banding." (The "banding," which is different rock that wraps
around the boulder like a ribbon, actually runs through the
boulder. It was formed when magma, or liquid rock, flowed through
larger pieces of rock.)This glacial boulder that stands 6 feet tall
is located between MacKay and Science I on the Iowa State
campus.
Here are some web sites to visit if you are interested in
Erratics
This is a view of
the parking lot in winter.