The Amazing Disappearing Park: A Geologic Whodunit EarthCache
The Amazing Disappearing Park: A Geologic Whodunit
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Welcome to Snow’s Cut Park, a county facility that is shrinking by
the day. Located along the Intracoastal Waterway, this park offers
beautiful views of the sparkling waters between Myrtle Grove Sound
and the Cape Fear River. It’s a shame that this special place is
disappearing, isn’t it? Your task with this EarthCache will be
two-fold – help us to measure how quickly this park is shrinking,
and help us figure out why it is shrinking. Are you up for the
challenge?
As is the case with most good mysteries, a blend of history and
science will guide you toward the answer you seek. First, the
history: the wide body of water that borders this park was not
always here. Back in the early 1930’s, the creation of this section
of the Intracoastal Waterway caused millions of cubic feet of soil
and silt to be dredged out of what once were tidal marshes here.
That’s right – before the formation of this waterway, the land that
you see across the water was NOT an island. It was a peninsula that
was very much attached to the mainland upon which you’re standing.
Interesting - that might be a clue!
Now for the science. It’s pretty easy to conclude that erosion is
the culprit here, right? Erosion is the carrying away or
displacement of solids (sediment, soil, rock, etc.) usually by the
agents of currents such as, wind, water, or ice. Of course, humans
and animals can create unintended erosion as well – remember to
stay off of the dunes at the beach, for example. Erosion is a
continual process and is often, in fact, healthy for the ecosystem.
There are six major causes of natural erosion:
Mass-Wasting (the down-slope movement of earth material
under the influence of gravity)
Running Water (water moving on the earth’s surface, such as
a stream)
Ground water (water beneath the earth’s surface)
Glacier (a moving body of ice affecting the land with which
it comes into contact)
Wind (the power of moving air to erode rock and sand)
Waves (the energy and pressure of waves affecting a
shoreline)
Humans can also bring about erosion, usually through poor land
management. Think of the unintended effects of practices such as
clear-cutting a parcel of land and dredging a body of water to make
it deeper or wider. Excessive erosion brought about by such
practices can cause problems, such as excessive water
sedimentation, ecosystem damage and outright loss of soil. And this
brings us back to our little disappearing park.
The posted coordinates will take you to a warning sign. While
staying on the safe side of the fence, take a coordinate reading as
close to the sign as you are able to reach. As the “cliff”
creeps inward, the sign is relocated. Send us these coordinates so
we can track this shift. Next, we’d like you to investigate the
general area and tell us which major cause of natural erosion
you think is the culprit in this mystery. Which agent(s) of
erosion have been amplified by the history of human intervention
here? The answer may vary depending on the weather, the boats in
the waterway, etc. Please send this information directly to us and
don’t include it in your log. Last, we’d like you to post a
picture of you, your GPS, and some example of erosion that you
found at this site. There are plenty in the area, especially if
you take the ramp down to the shore.
Have fun, learn something, and we hope that this EarthCache
encourages you to tread lightly in the great outdoors. And THANK
YOU for helping us to solve the mystery of the disappearing
park!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)