Manchester Islands EarthCache
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The cache coordinates will take you to the Island Creek Boat Ramp
in Manchester, Ohio. There is plenty of parking and is wheelchair
accessible. As always be careful with small children around the
water. Please visit this site during the day only.
The Ohio River begins at the confluence of the Allegheny and
Monongahela Rivers at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Monongahela
River rises in north central West Virginia and the Allegheny River
rises in southwestern New York. The Ohio River is approximately 981
miles long and contains 40 islands in the upper region, of these 22
are incorporated in the Ohio River National Wildlife Refuge.
The two islands at Manchester, Ohio are the southernmost islands in
the Ohio River National Wildlife Refuge. These areas of land have
been formed in the river by several factors coming together and
under the right conditions, areas of land remain in the river
channel above the normal water line. These landforms are actually
in Kentucky. The state line is now underwater, and is at the low
water mark, the line where the water met the shore on the Ohio side
BEFORE the water level was raised due to dams.
The immediate floodplain and all of the islands have flooded
numerous times in the past, as evidenced by extensive sediment
layers over their sand and gravel cores; however, the extent and
frequency of flooding on the Ohio River has been reduced by
numerous dams and reservoirs in both the river and its tributaries.
The river carries not only water but sediments as well. Some of
these are very small such as particles of clay and topsoil, which
can be found in great abundance after a rain as the surrounding
areas erode into the streams and rivers. This is what makes the
water appear murky, or muddy looking. Faster moving water carries
with it larger particles such as sand and gravel. After unusually
large rainfalls, the resulting floods move rocks that may weigh
from one to several hundred pounds. As the water slows and the
water level recedes, the heaviest particles settle to the bottom
first and remain until the next flood moves them even farther
downstream. Non-moving, or very slow moving water will allow the
finest of particles to settle to the bottom, forming a silt layer
on top of mud, sand, gravel, and larger rocks. Most soils on
floodplains and islands are classified as fine sandy or silt loams.
The alluvial sediments in the area consist of glacial outwash fill
of sand and gravel. These glacial outwash deposits can be as much
as 125 feet thick. They are composed primarily of sand and gravel
derived from local Pennsylvanian and Permian age sedimentary rocks.
Other sand and gravels are composed of granite, quartzite, vein
quartz, and chert glacially transported from Canadian sources
The islands were formed by accretion of flood deposits over gravel
and rock bars to the height of the floodplain. Certain land use
practices (e.g., mining, farming, and timbering) have resulted in
extensive erosion in the last century along some mainland and
island shorelines.
It is important to note that the Ohio River is a greatly altered
ecosystem, impounded for navigation purposes. The altered hydrology
has affected significantly the quality of both aquatic and
terrestrial habitats. Many islands, shallow gravel bars, riffles,
and channel wetlands have been lost, and have been replaced by
deepwater habitats. Impoundment of the river and resulting elevated
water table has altered the plant community composition of the
river corridor - favoring a silver maple dominated forest.
In the early times of human activity in this area, Native Americans
used land for many thousands of years. This is evidenced by
artifacts found in the floodplain such as arrowheads, stone axes,
pottery fragments and other everyday objects. At the coordinates
given, if you face the river look, over to your left and back, here
you will find a mound with trees growing on it. This mound is
basically a trash dump where Native Americans piled mussel shells
taken from the river. It is generally thought that the meat was
removed, perhaps preserved in some way for future use, and the
shells were piled here. The floodplain has made an excellent
location for humans to inhabit, from prehistoric times to the
present. Fertile land washed in from upstream piled high in a
relatively small area, water for everyday use, level land to work
on, abundant game, fish, and vegetation as well as easy
transportation made and still make life easier for its inhabitants.
The river was not always as broad as what we see today. When humans
started using the waterway for commercial use, dams were
constructed to allow larger boats to navigate the river without
fear of running into shallow water, getting stuck and perhaps
damaging the craft (Congress authorized the canalization of the
Ohio in 1878.). Before the damming of the river, this spot was a
shallow water area allowing people to wade out and even walk to the
nearest island, or in some locations, all the way across the river.
These islands used to be inhabited by farmers who benefited from
the rich soil and even had cattle and other livestock roaming free.
In the last few years, the large limestone rocks have been placed
on the island heads to help reduce erosion caused by the river
current.
Manchester Island #1 is 20.4 acres and Island #2 is 93.6 acres. The
larger island is closest to Ohio and from these coordinates the
smaller island is not visible.
The refuge is open daily from one hour before sunrise until one
hour after sunset for activities that allow visitors to enjoy
wildlife and their habitats.
To get credit for this EarthCache email the answers to the answers
to the following questions to me and post a picture of you and your
GPSr, with the river and the head of the island in the background.
Logs with no pictures posted will be deleted. If you cannot submit
a picture because of camera problems let me know first, or if you
have any questions please email me. I will help in any way
possible.
1. When looking along the shore of the island, what substance makes
up the majority of the land?
2. What was the relationship between Native Americans, the river,
and the mound with trees growing on it?
3. What has caused the level of the water changed from the time
early Americans were here and today’s water level?
The information in this paper was taken from various resources
including the Internet, textbooks, personal experience, and from
local persons who have lived and farmed in the area for many years.
*Note: If the water level is too high the site may not be
accessible and the gates will be closed. After the water goes down
the area will be covered with very slippery mud. Use caution.
**Special thanks to Mr. Bloodhound who has a cache nearby with very
good information on the mound. We recommend visiting his cache as
well, it is GCQTVD "Island Creek Mound".
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fnaq naq bgure frqvzragf znxr hc zbfg bs gur vfynaqf.
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