GC12YB1 Coos Bay Mud Flats - more than just mud (Earthcache) in Oregon, United States created by Tripod Fishboy

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GC12YB1 ▼

A cache by Tripod Fishboy Message this owner

Hidden : 5/15/2007

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Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Mudflats are neither all mud nor flat. Note the Coos Bay mudflats for their diversity in animals and shape!

Mudflats are a coastal wetlands feature formed by mud being deposited by ocean tides and rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. These mudflats are with Coos Bay itself, and are fed by the Pacific Ocean, Coos River and multitudes of other sloughs and creeks. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of estuarine silts, clays and marine animal detritus.

Mudflats are exposed to air during low tide and are covered with brackish water during higher tides. Mudflats are made up of much more than just ‘mud’. Sand grains carried from the mountains by the river are deposited in the upper bay and along the edges of main channels, while finer particles of silt and clay drift farther to the edges of the flats near the fringing marshes. Marine sand carried along the ocean front in the "longshore current" is swept into the estuary on incoming tides and may be deposited as far as several miles upstream.

Mudflats are typically important regions for wildlife, supporting a large population, although levels of biodiversity are not particularly high. They are often of particular importance to migratory birds. The Coos Bay mudflats are home to multitudes of birds who also feed at the nearby Millicoma Marsh (the point of land that you can see when you look South-East, out in the bay)

The maintenance of mudflats is important in preventing coastal erosion. However, mudflats worldwide are under threat from predicted sea level rises, land claims for development, dredging due to shipping purposes, and chemical pollution.

Coos Bay is dredged because it is one of the largest and deepest ports between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. The waterfront is built up along parts of the mudflats and quite roads, such as the one you are on, surround the mudflats on the other sides. Chemical pollution occurs from local industries as well as stream run off, street run off, illegal dumping, pesticides that wash into the bay, and from the ships themselves.

Part of the material dredged up from the port area of Coos Bay built up the Millicoma Marsh wetlands. This dredge material was placed into ‘cells’ that have dykes around them. The dykes help contain water both keeping some in and keeping some out, depending on water levels and needs.

The bay portion of the estuary is characterized by broad mud flats which are exposed to the air at low tide and flooded by a mix of salt and fresh waters at high tide.

In order to log this cache you must visit during a low tide in which the mudflats are visible and:

(1) Email the owner of the cache: a list of 3 animals that you noted while watching the marsh
(2) Email the owner of the cache: What do you notice about the ‘streams’ that are flowing through the mudflats? What direction are they flowing and what shape do they form??
(3) Post: a picture of yourself with the bay behind you- the mud flats must be visible in the picture! (this is a MUST or your log will be deleted)
(4) Post: the time & tide level when you visited (check out the tide tables for some help)

Sources: (visit link)
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Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Oevat n pnzren, frnepu tbbtyr sbe "Pbbf Onl" naq "gvqrf" gb svaq bhg jura gb ivfvg qhevat n ybj gvqr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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Coos Bay Mud Flats - more than just mud EarthCache

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Geocache Description:

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