Modern Marvel II: Warning Signs Traditional Cache
Jophiel: No response from cache owner. For now I am going to archive the cache listing. If you can fix or verify this cache it can be easily unarchived provided it meets the current guidelines. Feel free to contact me if you fix it. Please include the GC # of the cache with any correspondence.
Thanks for your understanding,
Jophiel
Groundspeak Volunteer Reviewer
Modern Marvel II: Warning Signs
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
The Modern Marvel is the spillway. The warning signs should be self-evident and are related to the many underground pipelines which feed the plants along the river. These signs are large enough to be seen from dredging crews on the river.
The spillway's necessity is also a warning sign of the difficulties engineering against the forces of nature as well as the effects of the use of chemical fertilizers hundreds of miles upstream.
The primary mission of the US Army Corps of Engineers is to maintain navigable waterways - in this case, the Mississippi, a vital navigation route for the United States and control of which was the primary reason for Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana territory and its gateway, New Orleans.
In order to keep the Mississippi on its current course and prevent its normal oscillation along the delta between Mississippi and southwestern Louisiana as it deposits rich silt runoff from the huge area of the United States which it drains, the river is dredged and levees prevent it from overflowing its banks as it rises in the spring.
Unfortunately, the effects of maintaining commerce for the United States has also contributed (along with oil and natural gas pipelines and other navigable waterways) to the loss of thousands of acres of wetlands and farmland which are no longer replenished by the rich silt the annual floods of the Mississippi deposited, and saltwater is more easily able to intrude without the effect of this regular replenishment. With the dredging of the river channel for shipping, the silt simply runs right off into the Gulf and drops into the deep water of the Gulf.
Unfortunately, there is no longer helpful signage which describes the Spillway's mission. In order to prevent the river from rising and flooding its banks, the spillway is opened to divert water from the river to Lake Pontchartrain. The river water diverted to the lake has a large number of pollutants as well as fertilizer from the runoff. This fertilizer causes algae blooms which suck the oxygen out of the water and cause dead zones and other issues in the lake. This also happens in the Gulf of Mexico annually, a cost that the fisheries of South Louisiana pay for the benefit of the people of the United States.
The cache is large enough for small trade items.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Lbh zvtug trg n srry sbe guvf bar nsgre n juvyr.