MACATAWA RIVER GAGING STATION - EARTHCACHE
Purpose
This earthcache is designed to show the how today’s rivers are
monitored/regulated. The above coordinates above will take you to a
USGS gage station. USGS is the United States Geological Survey.
These gauging stations are used for water resources, specifically
the Macatawa River in this case. The station here is continuously
measuring the depth and the amount of flow of the river.
It is very important to monitor, and control the river’s flow for
several reasons. We can start with the control of flooding or at
least the warning of flooding. An important reason for this gauging
and regulating of the river is to limit erosion of the river banks.
Though erosion will always take place it can be held to a minimal.
Ground water also depends on these regulated flows. Ground waters
include some small lakes, marshes and wetlands.
A gaging station is a facility used by
hydrologists and others to monitor streams, rivers, lakes, canals,
reservoirs, and other bodies of water. Gaging stations typically
collect information such as water height and discharge (flow). The
collected information is recorded by a site visit or is transmitted
via telephone or a satellite communication system to the stations
owner.
Logging Requirements
To log this cache you will need to complete the following.
- Post a picture of yourself/team with with your GPSr and the
gage house in the background
- E-mail the flow rates a the time of your visit, and for the
corresponding week prior -
Real
time data for this gage station
- Provide a brief explanation as to why you believe these rates
are different.
- E-mail the water lever the river was at the time of your visit,
and for the corresponding week prior. -
Real
time data for this gage station
- Provide a brief explanation as to why you believe these levels
are different.
- Be sure to include the time you were there
- If prior week data is not available due to equipment
malfunction, use data for the day when equipment was functioning
properly again.
-
Each Cacher that logs a find is required to submit answers to the
questions
above***
(failure to comply will result in a deletion of your
log).
- The purpose of Earthcaches is for everyone to learn from their
visit/experience
- Combined photos are acceptable, but each cacher must be
identified.
All that should be posted with your log will be a photo.
The answers should be e-mailed to us (via our
profile) and not posted in your log.
Go ahead and log your find at the same time you're sending your
email answers.
***
= the only exception to this are young kids that are caching with
their parents (who have their own account, but not computer
privileges).
Macatawa
River Gaging Station
The Macatawa River Gaging Station is operated by the USGS (United
States Geological Survey). This gaging station records water height
and discharge and transmits its data back to the USGS headquarters
in real time by telephone.
The Macatawa River, also known as the Black River,
drains an extensive portion of southern Ottawa County and northern
Allegan County before emptying into Lake Macatawa and eventually
into Lake Michigan. Lake
Macatawa, in southern Ottawa County, is a 1,800-acre drowned river
mouth that empties into Lake Michigan. The Macatawa Watershed
extends into Allegan County and covers approximately 110,000
acres.
The Lake Macatawa Watershed includes all the land that drains to
Lake Macatawa. Laketown, Fillmore, Overisel, Holland, Park,
Zeeland, Port Sheldon, Olive, and Blendon Townships. All have some
land in the Macatawa Watershed, as well as the cities of Holland
and Zeeland.
The shape of the Macatawa River basin is nearly circular. It is
approximately fifteen and a half miles in length from the eastern
upper reaches to Lake Michigan. The six main tributaries take shape
in the upper reaches of the basin and flow downstream to the
central part of the basin to feed the Macatawa River. All but one
of these tributaries join the Macatawa River upstream of Lake
Macatawa. The Pine Creek tributary enters Lake Macatawa directly.
Here is a map of the
Macatawa River Watershed. (A watershed is an area of land that
drains to a common point)
The posted coordinates above will lead
you to the gage house. This brick structure holds the stream gaging
equipment - typically a gage of some type, a computer, and
communications equipment. A stilling well or a vertical pipe is
located beneath the gage house. Water enters the well through one
or more inlet pipes. The water in the well rises to the same level
as the stream. Recording equipment in the gage house records the
water level in the well. Communications equipment transmits the
data to the USGS.
Station operated in cooperation with the
Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality
This station is managed by the LANSING
FIELD OFFICE
Please be
careful - the gaging station is located right next to the
road
Parking is not allowed on 96th Avenue, however parking is located
close by -North of the bridge
Parking is available N42 46.837 W86 01.078 (which is approx .14
miles north of the gaging station - easy walk, just watch for
traffic)
Here is a
picture of the Gage House'. It has a sign on the door identitfying
it.
Gaging Station History
In the 1880's, John Wesley Powell, the second director of the USGS,
requested that stream flow be monitored in eight river basins in
the West. It was his idea to measure the flow of streams and rivers
and determine the viability of irrigation systems for this acrid
region. In 1889, the first U.S. stream gaging station was
established on the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. At this station,
standard stream flow measurement procedures were devised.
Today, the USGS operates and maintains more than 85% of the
nation's stream gaging stations. There are over 7,000 stream gaging
stations in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Territories of the Pacific Islands.
The USGS uses it's stream gaging network to provide a free
continuous source of well documented and archived water data. This
data is used by government agencies and private companies to
forecast flooding, design bridges, allocate drinking and irrigation
water, for recreational use, and to manage our valuable surface
water resources.
Real time data for this gage station may be found the internet at:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=04108800
Addtional Stuff
The name Macatawa is a corruption of the Native American
"Muck-i-ta-wog-go-me", which means "black water"
The region was inhabited by Ottawas, Chippewas and Potawatomie
tribes.
This small river (closer to Holland) is the site of the annual
tug-of-war by Hope College
students called The Pull
The Macatawa River (MI) 2007 RED JEEP Travel Bug -
Click here to view logs
congratulations to
drewman1962
and
skeptic1970
on the FTF for
this Earthcache