At the time we placed this earthcache, there were no other earthcaches in Illinois. We did this to get the ball rolling. Now there are at least 128 earthcaches in Illinois. This is an EarthCache. An Earthcache is an educational form of a virtual cache. The reward for these caches is learning more about the planet on which we live - its landscapes, its geology or the minerals and fossils that are found there. Earthcaches are developed in association with the Geological Society of America. For more information go to http://www.geosociety.org/earthcache/
You are standing on a Continental Divide. Water falling on this line separates and runs to the West and to the East. To the East, historically, the flow was to the Chicago River, to Lake Michigan through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. With the reversal of the flow of the Chicago River in 1900 all water now flows to the Gulf of Mexico. East of this line is a ridge which is the beach of ancient Lake Chicago. The high dry ground formed by this ridge encouraged early settlement of Oak Park in 1837.
http://www.oprf.com/divide/ The above website is wonderful and explains this so well. Be sure to visit the website!
To log this cache and prove you have learned something, please email us the answers to the following questions: 1: From the part of the sign facing south, answer this question. What 2 watersheds does this divide sit on? 2: From the part of the sign facing North, a point 5 miles south of Oak Park provides a link between the Great Lakes and the western rivers and was the location of 3 important waterways. Name those 3 important waterways and the years they were either discovered or completed. Logs without the required email will be deleted. To learn more about continental divides, visit the web site listed above. It is very well done, and you will learn a lot. Please do not post pictures of either side of the sign and please, DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS IN YOUR LOG, EVEN IF ENCRYPTED.