Glacier Lobe Retreat, Outwash Plain 2 EarthCache
MI Chickenlegs: Archiving this Earthcache and opening the area for new caches or a new earthcache.
Thanks to all who found my earthcache.
MI Chickenlegs
Glacier Lobe Retreat, Outwash Plain 2
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This earthcache will take you to Walters Lake in Indpendence Township, Oakland County. You may park on the road side at both locations in order to answer the questions. Both waypoints are in residential areas, so please be respectful during your visit.
Walters Lake is nested in the middle of an end moraine. This end moraine lies in the middle of an outwash plain, both created when the Saginaw Lobe and Huron-Erie Lobe of the last Ice Glacier retreated. Note how the moraine is different on each side of the lake. Why do you think this is?
To log this earthcache, you must complete the following tasks:
1) At the posted cords, take an elevation reading.
2) At the posted cords, take a picture of yourself (or your GPSr if you are shy) with the kettle lake and the moraine in the background. Post this with your log.
3) At the child waypoint, take an elevation reading. This location can be reached by paved roads. Gravel roads may be shorter, but usually pretty rough.
4) Describe the difference of the moraine on the SE side of the lake vs the NW side of the lake, both in physical landscape and elevation difference. Why do you think the two sides are different? Send this information to the cache owner.
____________________________________________________________
For presentations, maps and other detailed information describing the formation of the area's landforms,
Google: 'Oakland County Surface Geology & Hydrology.'
To learn more about the outwash plain this end moraine sits on, see Earthcache GC1770W “Glacier Lobe Retreat, Outwash Plain 1.”
____________________________________________________________
The Wisconsinan Glacier Advance, consisting of multiple lobes, reached south of the Great Lakes region as one broad front. When the glacier retreated into southern Michigan, the ice front separated once again into distinct lobes. In Oakland County, two lobes melted and separated through Commerce, Waterford and Orion Townships. Independence Twp borders Waterford and Orion to the North and West respectively. This lobe separation created a broad outwash plain stretching across central Oakland County from the NE to the SW direction. The Saginaw lobe to the northwest was the first to retreat because it was thinner and melted faster. The Huron-Erie lobe was to the SE. As the ice receded, large quantities of water and sediment flowed off the melting lobes creating an outwash plain with numerous kames, eskers, and kettle lakes surrounded by moraines made of till from both lobes. This particular end moraine also includes the Pine Knob Kame a few miles from this location. To learn more about “Pine Knob Kame“, see Earthcache GC12YVP. You must travel across the outwash plain in order to reach this end moraine. While driving to the posted cords, you will notice a gradual rolling landform taking you to a higher elevation. (Note: Oakland county’s highest natural point is Pine Knob at 1286 feet and the lowest point is in Royal Oak’s Lake Plain at approximately 600 ft.)
____________________________________________________________
Quick definitions glacial landforms at this location:
1.) End Moraine - End Moraines form when the ice glacier moves forward, or retreats, leaving ridges of unconsolidated debris deposited at the front edge. They usually reflect the shape of the glacier's front edge. Glaciers act like a conveyor belt carrying debris from the top of the glacier to the bottom where it deposits it in end moraines. The longer the edge of the glacier stays in one place the larger the end moraine will be. Moraines are typically rolling landforms, higher than the surrounding countryside.
2.) Kettle Lakes - As an ice glacier retreats, sometimes large blocks of ice break off the glacier. The blocks of ice are buried in the glacial till. After the ice melts away, a steep-sided depression is left in the till creating kettle holes. Kettle Lakes form the same as Kettle Holes, but they are below the water table. The depressions fill partially or completely with water, forming kettle lakes. Kettle lakes are usually very small, and are more like ponds than lakes.
3.) Outwash Plains - A broad, low-slope angle plain composed of glacial till and sorted sediment (termed outwash), that has been transported by melt water. Typically, the sediment becomes finer grained with increasing distance from the glacier terminus. Outwash plains as a rule do not make good farm lands.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures