Pineo Ridge Delta EarthCache
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Welcome to the Pineo Ridge Delta, which is one of the largest glaciomarine deltas in eastern North America. Once you reach this location you will quickly realize what makes it a very special place.
At close to sixteen thousand acres the Pineo Ridge Delta is Maine largest glaciomarine delta and one of the large in North America. The rolling hills of the northern edge shows a great deal of variation in glacial features where deposits came from direct contact with the melting edge of the glacier. While the southern edge shows the gentle sloping notched edge produced by great ocean storms from the past. As the retreating glacier halted for a time the margin would stabilized, thickened and pushed forward along a line extending from at least Cherryfield to east through the border of coastal New Brunswick. The Pineo Ridge Moraine System marks the limit of that re-advance. The Pineo Ridge Moraine System is composed of very large and closely spaced moraines along with many ice-contact marine deltas.
While it is now far from the ocean’s edge, this area was once depressed by some 400-500 feet as a result of the Earth's adjustment to the tremendous mass of the Laurentide ice sheet that had covered the area. In the area of the posted coordinates you will see the gently sloping front of the delta that shows evidence of the short-lived effectiveness of waves in eroding this enormous pile of sand and gravel. These washboard formations are evidence of past storms as the ice retreated. Many of the shallow wave-cut notches are dotted with boulder. Imagine the force that it would take to move boulder this size as the waves from the storm crashed onto the newly formed beach.
Remember this is an earthcache so there is no container just an earth science lesson in an amazing natural area. At the posted coordinates you are at an intersection where you can see in all directions very clearly. Email me through my profile a description of the difference between the western and the eastern views from this location. Try to think of an explanation of why there is such a difference. It also would be nice if you would post a photo so others would know what they have to look forward to at this earth cache.
To locate the Pineo Ridge delta take route one to Cherryfield where you will turn onto Route 193 just past the Wyman’s Food. You will follow the Ridge Road until you reach the edge of the delta. At the intersection you will turn right onto the Pea Ridge Road, which you will follow to the earthcache. If you would like to make around trip return just follow the Georgetown Woods Road back to Route One.
Please remember these are cultivated blueberry fields so please stay on the roads and do not pick the blueberries. This and the other associated delta are perhaps most famous in Maine as "The Blueberry Barrens", since together they produce about 95% of the entire U. S. crop of low-bush blueberries each year. If you have never driven through a blueberry barren you will find it is a unique experience in all seasons. In the spring there are thousands of honeybees working to pollinating the blueberry plants. In the summer there is a unique kind of quite that falls over the barrens. In the fall the colors begin to show and the winter the snows form beautiful drifts that travel across the barren.
If you enjoy this earthcache you may want to check the Maine Geological Survey located at (visit link)
They have developed a number of information sheets or field localities giving a great deal of information about geologic features. They also have a number of books and maps about Maine’s natural history/ geology that you might find interesting.
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Treasures
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