Marsh Creek EarthCache EarthCache
2Dee2Dee: I'm archiving ALL of 2Dee2Dee's geocaches. It's been a wild ride, now up to someone else to use my locations if you wish. I am no longer able to service nor maintain any cache.
Dennis
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Marsh Creek Lake located in Marsh Creek State Park, Downingtown, PA.
8AM to sunset access all year. Please respect and comply with all park regulations.
Marsh Creek Lake located in Marsh Creek State Park, Downingtown, PA is an important resource of the Christina Basin watershed which covers portions of three states. Christina Basin is unique because it is the only source of public surface water supply in the First State (Delaware). The Christina Basin as a whole has lost 15 percent of its open land to development since 1970.
The northern or Chester County, Pennsylvania portion of the Christina Basin named the Brandywine Creek Sub Basin is characterized by more open space, including agricultural land and forests. 67.6 percent of the land in the Brandywine sub-watersheds was converted to agricultural uses and as in the basin as a whole, the loss of forest during the period was uniformly large.
Marsh Creek Lake, a 7,500 mg reservoir, the largest body of water within the Christina Basin. It was developed to help manage the water resources in the Brandywine Creek Sub Basin Watershed which drains 330 square miles, most of which are in Chester County, PA. Previously frequent flooding, water shortages and lack of recreational opportunities for nearby population centers were problems within the watershed.
HISTORY: The state of Pennsylvania acquired the land that became Marsh Creek State Park between 1964 and 1978; with work on the dam done from 1970 to 1973 (the lake took three years to fill). Construction of the dam on Marsh Creek, a tributary of the Monocacy River, and formation of Marsh Creek Lake at Marsh Creek State Park solved several problems.
The lake is now a reservoir which provides drinking water for the Chester County Water Resources Authority, alleviating a previous drinking water shortage. The dam limits the possible damage caused by seasonal flooding in the area and the lake provides new outdoor recreational opportunities for the people of western Chester County. All this was not without costs: the area the lake now covers was once the farm community of Milford Mills, which now lies at the bottom of the lake. A detailed record of storms extending back to 1920 indicated frequent flooding in the watershed. Other major problems included water shortages.
Impervious Cover
Many studies in this region indicate that watersheds become stressed when the percent of impervious cover, the ratio of roof and pavement area, reaches 10%–15% of the watershed area. Impervious cover in the Christina Basin (including both the Delaware and Pennsylvania portions) increased from 16 percent in 1990 to 19 percent in 2000 or 0.3 percent per year (Cloud, 2007). If the impervious cover follows this same growth pattern, the impervious cover is projected to reach 22 percent by 2010.
SOILS: primarily Chewacla silt loam, sand(20.7%), silt(51.8%), clay(27.5%).
VEGETATION: 97% herbaceous cover. Predominant species are Arrow leaved tear thumb, Broad leaf cattail, Sensitive fern, Spotted touch me not and Tussock sedge. 40% Woody cover predominantly Red maple, Multiflora rose, and Black willow.
HABITAT: Contiguous forests and wetlands provide habitat for several federal or state-listed endangered or threatened species:
Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)
Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea)
Long-tailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
To successfully log this cache you must meet the following requirements:
BEFORE you post your found log, FIRST, eMAIL us offline, with the answers to the following two questions: DO NOT USE THE MESSAGE CENTER LINK, (I will NOT reply nor communicate through the Message Center), and you MUST include a valid reply email address)
1. Estimate the number of surface acres generally covered by Marsh Creek Lake.
2. Name two more water storage reservoirs within the protected areas of the Christina Basin.
THEN, include with EACH found log, a requested proof of find photo taken near the coordinates enjoying the park. (Bonus points for the most interesting) Include any comments about Marsh Creek State Park.
Congratulations to Greg1019 as the FTF on 4/18/08
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