Elk River EarthCache
Hidden : 8/4/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:


The coordinates for this earth cache will carry you to the banks of the Elk River in Fayetteville Tennessee. When finished with the requirements for the cache, take some time for a walk and enjoy this gem of a park. It is a great place to walk around and enjoy the afternoon. The Elk River begins in Tennessee and is the main tributary that drains into Wheeler Lake about 10 miles upstream from Wheeler Dam. The Elk represents the highest concentration of private residential development within the Reservoir corridor. The pooling waters of Wheeler Lake extend upstream into the Elk for approximately 25 miles. The city of Athens, Alabama, just east of the Elk, utilizes the river to provide its public water supply. A river may be formed in one or may ways or a combination of all of the following. A river may have its source in a spring, lake, from damp, boggy landscapes where the soil is waterlogged, from glacial melt, or from surface runoff of precipitation. Most rivers are joined by other rivers, streams and creeks termed tributaries, the highest of which are known as headwaters or the starting point of the river. The lower end, of a river is known its base level. The base level of a river or stream is the lowest point to which it can flow, often referred to as the 'mouth' of the river. The water in a river is usually confined to a channel, made up of a stream bed between banks. In larger rivers there is also a wider flood-plain shaped by flood-waters over-topping the channel. These banks of a river is continuously under attack from the force of the rivers flow. Large rocks are broken down to small ones, small rocks crushed into sand. The changing affects on the surrounding landscape can be amazing. From the bank here at the Elk River you can look both up stream and down stream and see just how the force of the water has carved its way through the limestone rock in the area. Not only is a river a mover of land, rivers have been used as a source of water, for food, for transport, as a defensive barrier, as a source of power to drive machinery, and as a means of disposing of waste. For thousands of years rivers have been used for navigation as one of the easiest ways to move goods and people up and down stream. In this day and age, management of rivers to make them more useful, or less disruptive, to human activity. Dams and levees may be built to help control flooding, control the flow of a river, store water, or extract energy. Canals are dug to connect rivers to one another for water transfer or navigation. River courses may be dredged or modified to improve navigation, or straightened to increase the flow rate. River management is an important and continuous activity as rivers tend to 'undo' the modifications made by people. Rivers can be considered the life blood of all on this planet, and great care should be taken of them as the continue to carve and change the face of our earth. To log this cache please email the cache owner the answers to the following questions do not post in your log. You must also post a picture and area near the posted coordinates with yourself and GPS with the River in the background. If within 21 days your picture has not been uploaded your log will be deleted. 1. About how wide is the river at this location? 2. In which direction is the river flowing at this location? 3. How many years would you estimate, it has taken for the water to erode the banks of the river here. 4. What type of rock is the predominate type here?



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