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This cache was hidden for the Spring Cache Challenge event; please do not begin the hunt until 6pm on Friday, May 1st, 2009. The yellow trail will take you for an easy hike (less than a kilometre) from the parking lot to the cascades. Some hiking is required on the bedrock which may become slippery at times.
The Cascades Conservation Area is owned by the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority (LRCA). The hours of operation are 7:00 am to 11:00 pm. A visitor fee is required of $2.00 per vehicle or you could purchase an annual Explorer Card for $30.00 to enjoy unlimited access to the LRCA’s Conservation Areas.
The cascades on the Current River are the conservation area’s namesake. It is the sudden change in elevation that causes the river to cascade for a kilometre over rapids and small waterfalls.
The Current River watershed covers an area of approximately 650 square kilometres, of which 20 percent is located within the City of Thunder Bay. The Current River flows south for 65 kilometres from its headwaters of Onion Lake to Lake Superior and falls over 300 metres.
The conservation area is located on the Gunflint formation. The Gunflint formation is a sequence of iron-rich rocks, alternating with layers of red, yellow and grey chert, which are exposed along the north shore of Lake Superior. The name is derived from the glassy chert that was used to produce flint for use in muskets. The black layers contain microfossils that are 1.9 - 2.3 billion years old. The presence of rocks rich in iron is evident in the colour of the water at the Cascades.
The last glaciation in North American reached its maximum extent about 18,000 years ago. As the ice began to retreat north, several glacial lakes were formed and one such lake occupied the lake occupied the Lake Superior basin. As the water levels in the lakes slowly dropped, the land slowly expanded upward through a process known as isostatic rebound. As a result, a series of beach terraces formed across the Current River valley extending down to Boulevard Lake. The river carried sediment from inland and where it met the shoreline, features such as deltas were formed. In fact, the parking lot for the conservation area is located on part of a former delta. Two distinct shorelines here are the Bluffs, near Centennial Park and the Boulevard Lake terrace, on which the dam is built.
The starting coordinates will bring you to the Cascades' interpretive display.
To log a find on this Earth-cache:
1. What is the elevation at Waypoint 1 (N 48° 29.969’ W 89° 13.455’)?
2. What is the elevation at Waypoint 2 (N 48° 30.160’ W 89° 13.571’)?
3. What is the slope between these two points (rise over run)?
4. Take a picture of your favourite cacher or GPS with the Casacades in the background and post it with your log.
Permission for this cache has been granted by the General Manager of the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority under File #3A-3-3.
This cache will be archived May 1, 2010.
Hfr gur TCF gb svaq lbhe ryringvba.
