A Sinking Feeling: The Suisun Marsh & the Railroad EarthCache
A Sinking Feeling: The Suisun Marsh & the Railroad
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The Suisun Marsh is the largest saltwater marsh left in the western contiguous USA. The railroad running across this marsh is one of the most expenisive to maintain- it sinks into the marsh.
What does erosion of the Sierra Mountains, an estuary and the railroad have in common? The Suisun Marsh, of course, what you are looking at today! You will be about 1,000 feet from the water's edge, so please take a short walk and explore the area.
The Suisun Marsh is the largest single marsh area left in the western part of the contiguous USA. Over the last 250 years the marshes of the San Francisco- Bay Area have declined by over 90%, the Suisun Marsh being the largest single marsh area left and in process of being re
What has changed the marshes of the San Francisco- Bay Area, you ask? The Gold Rush starting in 1849 increased the sediment flow coming down the Sacramento River to the point that it filled many of the estuaries, sloughs and streams within the Bay Area marshes.
Human settlement, roads, industry, transportation, agriculture and about everything else that humans could do to the area over the last 250 years has been done to the area. Every change to the physical environment has effected the marsh environment usually for the worse.
The Suisun Marsh is bordered by the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the east and the San Francisco Bay on the west. Multitudes of small rivers and creeks feed the estuary as well.
These 84,000 acres of wetlands is home to thousands of plants and animals unique to estuary waters. The Salt Water Harvest Mouse, an endangered species of mouse, claims the Suisun Marsh as its home.
Geologically, the sediment carried downstream by the Sacramento River created the Suisun Marsh and San Joaquin River through the process of erosion has happened over thousands of years. The sediment has been eroded from the Sierra Mountains, a large range of mountains that form the eastern border of Sacramento Valley.
The area you are looking at shows the railroad crossing the Suisun Marsh. The railroad was originally a popular form of transportation for the avid hunters that lived in San Francisco and Oakland at the turn of the Century. These men formed duck clubs that focused both on hunting ducks and developing a healthy ecosystem in which for the ducks to live. As this area of California became heavily populated the train became an economical form of transporting goods from the ports in San Francisco and Oakland towards Sacramento and later, over the Sierra Mountains as well as up and down the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys.
But wait! Building a railroad across a marsh system ended up with being a ‘drain’ on railroad funding as the railway kept sinking into the marshland. Yes, men would be out digging out a sunken train, and would themselves be swimming in mud and gunk as their section of the track sank in to the mud. Brilliant and not so brilliant men sweated for years over how to solve the sinking railroad problem. After man years of toiling, sinking and cleaning muddy trains someone found a solution that worked…. Widening the railroad bed so that the weight of the trains is distributed over a larger section of marshland. The area you are looking at is the existing railroad line that is used many times each day. It still must be maintained and is still one of the most expensive railroad beds to maintain.
In order to log this cache you need to do the following:
1) Email the cache owner the following information: (a) watch for five minutes and count every animal that you see IN THE MARSH lands. (b) Look at the color of the water in the slough in front of you, email the owner of the cache a description of the water, (c) What evidence of a marsh can you see from the general area? . Email the names/descriptions. Please do NOT post any of this information online.
2) Not required: Post online a photo of the marsh- the image must include YOU & your GPS unit and a clear picture of the marsh in the background.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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Treasures
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