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Cedar River Flood Plain
Many people believe Iowa to be flat and nothing but cornfields. Closer observation shows the many landforms throughout the state. A landform that is readily noticeable as you cross a river is the broad, flat area on one or both sides to the river, called a floodplain.
Flood plains are formed over millions of years as the rivers flooded repeatedly from heavy rainfall or melting glaciers, eroding the surrounding area and depositing topsoil from areas up stream. Flood plains along the state's rivers and streams make up to 10% of the surface area of the state of Iowa. These areas may seem to be stable but in reality are constantly changing.
The action of rivers forming and reforming flood plains was highlighted by the "record" floods in many areas throughout the state in the spring of 2008. As the Cedar River passed through Waterloo, Iowa, it reached a new record level of 22.6 feet, but when you look at the actual flood plain, it becomes obvious that the river has reached much higher levels in the past.
This earthcache is located near the town of Gilbertville, Iowa along the Cedar River. The listed coordinates(N42 24.938 W92 13.225) will take you to the approximate "high water mark" on the bridge crossing the Cedar River. Yes, if you were standing just to the west of this location, your feet would be wet. Imagine the volume of water flowing by with the river at this level.
To log this Earthcache, find the answers to the following questions and email your answers to me via geocaching.com. You will also need to go to the additional waypoints listed to gather information needed to answer the questions:
1) From the original location, proceed to the first waypoint (N42 24.944 W92 13.193). This will be located approximately 12-15 fence posts (as you look upstream, toward the river through the chain link fence) to the east. Looking down, over the edge of the bridge, what is located directly below you?
2) From this point, proceed east again, to the far (east) bank of the river, directly over the bridge abutment. Mark a waypoint at this location and determine the usual width of the Cedar River as it passes under the bridge. Email your measurement to me.
3) Using the waypoint at the east bank of the river, proceed to waypoint three (N42 24.826 W92 15.805) (you will find two white posts at this location). This marks the point to the west that the river reached in June, 2008. What was the width of the river during this "record flood"? (Also, note how you measured the distance - ie -GSPr, car odometer, etc)
4) As you travel from the east bank of the Cedar River to waypoint three, you cross over three bodies of water. How do you think these features were formed:
a. They are man made structures
b. These were areas washed out during the June 2008 flooding
c. These are remnants of older, abandoned river channels
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Lbh jvyy unir gb jbex sbe guvf bar.