Clinton River Earthcache EarthCache
Hidden : 8/5/2008
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

This earthcache is located near Shadyside Park in Mt. Clemens. The terraine is generally flat but the area can be over grown. Be sure to watch your step and NEVER put yourself in a hazardous situation.

Have you ever wondered how old is the Clinton River and how did the thick sandy bluffs that line its river valley get there? Do you ever wonder what “created” the river’s path and flow direction? It involves the most recent remarkable global swing in the Earth's climate system - an ice age.
For the last two million years our planet has been in an ice age, typified by two steady climate states that mysteriously shift back and forth to the rhythm of slow, recurring and predictable changes in Earth's orbit. During glacial periods the earth cools and giant continental ice sheets two to three miles thick expand and flow from high northern latitudes to engulf large areas of the North American and Europe/Asia continents. The frigid glacial climate commonly lasts 100,000 years. These glacial periods are rapidly punctuated by geologically brief 10,000 to 15,000 year warm periods, that cause the ice to melt and allow organisms (from microorganisms to plants to animals) found in a given area to return. We’re currently about 10,000 years into a warm interglacial period.

During the most recent glacial episode massive glaciers flowed over Michigan, further widening the existing river valleys into the Great Lakes’ basins. About 20,000 years ago the ice front reached as far south as Cincinnati, Ohio before finally staring to melt and retreat.

Rapid global warming enhanced the melting and approximately 14,500 years ago a seam between two massive lobes of the ice sheet opened up in Oakland County, finally exposing the frozen land surface. Hills formed along the southeastern edge of the seam in front of the Huron-Erie ice lobe as it melted back across the southeastern portion of the county. It is in this seam where the Clinton River began its evolution into today’s river.

These hills are glacial landforms called moraines. A moraine develops when the ice temporarily stabilizes during its recession, depositing low-lying hills of assorted sediments which contain “non-native” rocks of all sizes and types. The series of moraines in the area between the Clinton River in Rochester Hills and Pontiac to the northwest are called the Fort Wayne and Defiance Moraines. They extend all the way to Fort Wayne, Indiana and Defiance, Ohio, respectively, before wrapping east around the southern margin of Lake Erie. These hills outline the former edges of the giant ice lobes.

The next moraine southeast of the Clinton River runs from the western part of Rochester to Birmingham. It formed in front of the ice sheet 13,800 years ago and is called the Birmingham Moraine. The hills of Stony Creek Metropark are part of the Birmingham Moraine. As the glacier continued to recede, a series of glacial lakes formed to the south and southeast in front of the ice creating a flat muddy lake plain with sandy beach ridges. This nearly flat gently sloping lake plain characterizes the southeastern portion of Oakland County and extends across Wayne County to the Detroit River.

The early stages of the present river systems of southeast Michigan also evolved during the glacial era before attaining their modern drainage patterns. Initially, melt-water from the glaciers formed huge networks of criss-crossing streams that carried sand and gravel away from the glaciers and moraines into the central seam between the ice lobes. This sediment is referred to as glacial outwash (or glacial flour).

As the ice receded to the southeast rivers began to break through the moraines, but the rivers were always forced to flow to the southwest by the ice front. Also, as the ice retreated from its position along the Defiance Moraine, the ancestral Clinton River cut across the moraine separating the Clinton drainage from the Rouge drainage. However, because of the position of the glaciers ice front the river was still forced to flow to the southwest.

When the ice melted back from the site of the Birmingham Moraine the Clinton River was no longer forced to the southwest and flowed to the northeast cutting cross the moraine and eventually across the southeasterly sloping glacial lake plain. The base level of the river was affected by fluctuating glacial lake levels until around 11,000 years ago. This accounts for some of the unusual widening and terraces along the river valley. The sandy bluffs along the northeasterly flowing portion of the Clinton River are the glacial melt-water stream deposits. The river and its tributaries continue to erode the landscape as the waters make their way to Lake St. Clair and beyond.

The Clinton River Watershed covers most of Macomb County, the eastern half of Oakland County and a small portion of southern end of Lapeer and St. Clair County. The land that drains into the Clinton River, and eventually into Lake St. Clair, consists of 760 square miles. The Clinton River’s main branch runs for over 80 miles and includes over 1000 miles of streams and creeks. Riverfront parks dot the banks of the Clinton River and its tributaries and people enjoy fishing, canoeing and boating on the watershed’s waterways.
There are many gaging stations along the river that keep watch on the watershed’s flow rate and height at strategic locations within the watershed. These gaging stations are maintained by the United States Geological Survey. One of these gaging stations is located just outside of Shadyside Park in Mt. Clemens where the Clinton River bends northward on its final leg to Lake St. Clair. It is also at this point that the Clinton River spillway begins. The Army Corps of Engineers dug the spillway in the 1950s to relieve the flooding along the Clinton River’s path. Unlike many of the other gaging stations along the river this gaging station is not part of the real time flow system of the USGS.

The posted coordinates will take you to a parking location. You will have to walk about one-third of a mile to the cache location. Please note: No earthcaching between 10 pm and 5 am. The following requirements are necessary in order to log this earthcache:
1. At N 42° 34.832 W 082° 52.597 you will find the north foundation for the underwater dam (also known as a “weir”). Please watch your step as the area does get overgrown in the summer. On the foundation you will see a measuring gage. Email me the highest value on the gage. You will have to do a little interpolation as the top number is missing. DO NOT post this information with your log. Email it to me.
2. Estimate the height of the river’s water in relation to the top of the weir. Be sure to use the “upriver” side of the weir to make your guess. Post this in your log and we can keep a “running cacher-track” of the river’s flow. On August 4, 2008 it was 12 inches below the top of the weir.
3. Look at the ground beneath your feet. What glacial evidence do you see?
4. Take your picture with the weir in the background. Please dont post a picture of the building.

For some other geological lessons associated with the Clinton River visit the following earthcache sites:
Clinton River Headwaters (at (visit link)
Clinton River Watershed - Canal Park (at (visit link)
Clinton River Watershed - George George (at (visit link)
Clinton River Watershed - Paint Creek Subwatershed (at (visit link)
Moravian Gage Station (at (visit link)
Stony Creek Gaging Station (at (visit link)

There are three glacial feature eartcaches located in Stony Creek Metropark. REMEMBER - there is a fee required to enter the Metropark.

Stony Creek Moraine (at (visit link)
Stony Creek Kames (at (visit link)
Stony Creek Inside the Moraine (at (visit link)

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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