Columbia Wetlands Earthcache EarthCache
Hidden : 9/24/2007
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Located at a roadside turnout just south of the village of Radium Hot Springs, this Earthcache is an easy drive-up location with a stunning view to the west of the Columbia Wetlands, the Rocky Mountain Trench and the Purcell Mountains beyond.

A complex fault zone between the Purcell & Selkirk Mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east created the the Rocky Mountain Trench, which contains the Columbia Wetlands.  The trench is a remarkable landform, over 1600 kilometres long & 3 to 5 kilometres wide.  Its floor is flat and lies between 760 and 960 meters above sea level.

Geological events during and following the last glaciation have created a landscape dominated by large sand and gravel out-washes and terraces.  At the end of the last glaciation a temporary glacial lake extended for some 130 kilometres, resulting in the deposition of deep silt deposits over much of the area.  Subsequent erosion and deposition of gravel, sand and silts moved by the river and streams further modified the landscape by creating terraces, scarps, erosion gullies and channels.  Continuous sediment deposition has produced large fans that have in-filled across the valley.  The damming effect of these fans created Columbia Lake, Windermere Lake and the shallow floodplain of the wetlands.

The Columbia Wetlands cover an area of 201 square kilometres.  Two lakes, Columbia Lake and Windermere Lake, as well as seasonally flooded marshes and back channels form the wetlands.  Columbia Lake is the headwaters of the Columbia River, a critical water source for the Pacific NorthWest region of North America.

300 pairs of Great Blue Heron, 1,200 Canada Geese, 24 pairs of Osprey and the Common Loon are among the avian species that nest in the Columbia Wetlands.  This landscape is one of the last natural pathways left for migratory birds.  15,000 waterfowl in the autumn and more than 1,000 tundra swans in the spring have been counted in single day bird counts.

The region is also home to 100,000 large mammals of 12 different species including Grizzly and Black bear, Wolf, Cougar, Wolverine, Elk, Moose, Mountain Caribou, Mountain Goat, Big Horn Sheep, White-tailed Deer and Black-tailed Deer (Mule Deer).


To log this Earthcache, please email (do not post) the answers to the following:

1) Stretching from Canal Flats to Donald, the Columbia Wetlands are the longest continuous undeveloped wetlands in North America. How long, in kilometres, are the Columbia Wetlands?

2) Please estimate the elevation difference between the monument and the valley floor.

3) Please estimate the distance from the monument to the far side of the valley.

You must also post a photo of yourself or your GPSr at the monument with your log.

Logs posted without an accompanying email or the required photo will be deleted, ... which means: do not post a log for this earthcache until you (a) have emailed the answers and (b) are prepared to post the photo.

Happy Earthcaching!

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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