CHEC: The Highpoint of the Great Dune EarthCache
Hidden : 2/5/2008
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

CHEC: Cape Henlopen Earth Cache

This cache is a 0.6 mile walk from parking along a paved trail and is handicap accessible.



At the above coordinates you will be standing on the largest sand hill between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. This high point of the Great Dune is 80 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

It took thousands of years and actions of both nature and people to create the Great Dune. Wind, waves and currents brought huge amounts of sand to the mount of Delaware Bay. Grass and other plants grew, holding the sand and trapping more. By colonial times, the Great Dune was 46 feet tall and covered by a pine forest.

Humans cut down many of the tress in the early 1800’s while fires burned the rest. Without plants to hold it, the sand was set loose and shifted by the wind. The Great Dune moved inland so steadily that it was nicknamed the “Galloping Dune.” It moved at the amazing rate of 3 to 5 feet per year.

During World War II, the Army added sand to hide a newly-constructed bunker, raising the Great Dune to its current height. The Army planted grass, trees and shrubs to stabilize the sand. The dune’s movement is not as noticeable today.

Always obey the "Keep off the Dune" signs.

Though sand dunes may look simply likes piles of sand strewn with weeds, they are, in fact, much more.

Beach dunes are part of a delicate system to protect marshes, bays and land behind the beach from high water and stormy seas.

Don't be fooled by dunes that appear to be shallow or have breaks in them. The height of a dune is determined by several factors, including the direction the dune is facing, wind velocity and direction, and rainfall.

Those breaks in the dune are important, too. During storms, when waves repeatedly batter the dunes, the dune line can be breached. That is, water can funnel through these breaks without sacrificing the entire dune line.

A dune system left in its natural state will eventually travel landward at a slow pace due to the continuing rise of sea level. The reason it's important for people to stay off the dunes is to prevent damage to the plants growing there.

The large barrier dunes would be highly unstable and would move landward even faster if it weren't for the beach grasses and other delicate plants that can grow under the incredibly harsh conditions confronting the upper beach.

Unless these grasses can develop a root long enough to reach the water table, they won't survive long. Because they are so delicate, walking over them can often kill them, leaving the dune that much closer to collapse.

Dunes extend beyond the initial beach berm. Those closest to it are the barrier dunes. Vegetation on these is limited.

Smaller, more stable dunes are behind these barrier dunes and feature different vegetation, such as beach heather and goldenrod. Still further away, woody plants such as bayberry and huckleberry begin to grow in lower dunes.

All of this is important to the ongoing health of the dune, and why it's important to keep off the dune.

These dunes closer to the water are also known as primary dunes.


To log this cache do the following:

1) E-mail or message me why plants are so important to a dune’s survival and 3 that are found on the dunes.

2) Optional: If your GPSr has an altimeter, take a reading and post it in your log.


State Park Info:
These trails will be closed for firearm deer season. Check here for dates.
The park has an entry fee from March 1st through November 30th.
$4.00 for residents, $8.00 for non-residents.


Sources:
http://www.destateparks.com/chsp/chsp.htm
http://www.beach-net.com/Oceandunes.html
http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.beach-net.com/lighthousech.html

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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