A Confluence in Rome EarthCache
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A Confluence in Rome
Traveling to the listed coordinates, you will find your self at the
confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers and where the Cossa
River begins. About 90% of the Coosa River's length is located in
Alabama. The river starts in Rome, Georgia and ends just northeast
of the Alabama state capital, Montgomery, where it joins the
Tallapoosa River to form the Alabama River just south of Wetumpka.
Coosa County, Alabama is located on the Coosa River. A confluence
is describes the meeting of point two or more bodies of water at a
single location. Joining together, these two rivers have greatly
increased their ability to carve its way through the landscape from
this point on to the confluence of the Alabama River. Every time a
creek, stream or another river flows in to each other, it adds to
the flow rate and ability to carve and relocate nutrients,
sediment, and pollutants along the river basin, all affecting the
river basin down stream. Other factors affecting the flow rate of a
river are referred to as Catchment factors and all determine the
amount of water that reaches the rivers. Catchment factors are:
topography, shape, size, soil type and land use (paved or roofed
areas). Catchment topography and shape determine the time taken for
rain to reach the river, Catchment size, soil type and development
determine the amount of water to reach the river. This confluence
has been an important location through out history also. Below you
will find some tidbits I have added to this cache page. From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Catchment factors The catchment is
the most significant factor determining the amount or likelihood of
flooding. Topography Topography determines the speed with which the
runoff will reach a river, clearly rain that falls in steep
mountainous areas will reach the river faster than flat or gently
sloping areas. Shape Shape will contribute to the speed with which
the runoff reaches a river. A long thin catchment will take longer
to drain than a circular catchment. Size Size will help determine
the amount of water reaching the river, as the larger the catchment
the greater the potential for flooding. Soil type Soil type will
help determine how much water reaches the river. Certain soil types
such as sandy soils are very free draining and rainfall on sandy
soil is likely to be absorbed by the ground. However, soils
containing clay can be almost impermeable and therefore rainfall on
clay soils will run off and contribute to flood volumes. After
prolonged rainfall even free draining soils can become saturated,
meaning that any further rainfall will reach the river rather than
being absorbed by the ground. Land use Land use will contribute to
the volume of water reaching the river, in a similar way to clay
soils, only faster. Rainfall on roofs, pavements and roads will be
collected by rivers with almost no absorption into the groundwater.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia History Native Americans had
been living on the Coosa Valley for millennia before Hernando de
Soto and his men became the first Europeans to discover it in 1540.
De Soto[Spain] enslaved, raped, and murdered thousands of people
from the native tribes, as he demanded their food and natural
resources, as they explored the valley (present-day Alabama and
Georgia). The Coosa chiefdom was one of the most powerful chiefdoms
in the southeast at the time. The natives were not pleased with the
manner in which de Soto ravaged their land, forcing the Choctaw
chief, Tuscaloosa, to stage an attack on de Soto and his men in
Mauvila, in the south of Alabama. Although the battle was won by
the Spanish, de Soto soon left the state demoralized and headed
westward. However, the toll on the tribes were far greater, with
the widespread disease, especially smallpox, left by the Spanish
killing off many of Choctaw tribes over a period of decades. Over a
century after the Spanish left the Coosa Valley, the British
established heavy trading ties with the tribes around the late 17th
century, much to the dismay of France. The French believed that the
Coosa River was a key gateway to the entire South and they
earnestly wanted to control the valley, since the main
transportation of the day was by boat. The convergence of the Coosa
and Tallapoosa Rivers was the gateway to Mobile Bay, which was
where the French docked coming and going from their home countries.
In the 18th century, almost all European and Indian trade in the
southeast ceased during the tribal uprisings brought on by the
Yamasee War against the Carolinas. After a few years, the Indian
trade system was resumed under somewhat reformed policies. The
conflict between the French and English over the Coosa Valley, and
much of the southeast in general, continued. It wasn't until the
Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, ending the French and Indian
War, that France relinquished its holdings east of the Mississippi
River. After the United States won its independence, the Coosa
Valley was home to the Creeks and the Cherokee. After the Fort Mims
massacre, General Andrew Jackson led American troops, along with
Cheroke allies, against the Creeks in the Creek War, which
culminated in the Creek defeat at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
Afterwards, the Treaty of Fort Jackson in 1814 forced the cession
of a large amount of land from the Creeks, but left them a reserve
between the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers. Even there the Creeks were
edged out by white settlers who had begun moving into the places
which were not included in the nation. Finally, during the 1820s
and 1830s the Creeks, Cherokee, and virtually all the southeastern
Indians were removed to present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee removal
is remembered as the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee capital city of
New Echota was located on the headwater tributaries of the Coosa
River, in Georgia, until the Cherokee removal. The Creek and
Choctaw removals were similar to the Cherokee Trail of Tears. After
the removals, the Coosa River valley and the southeast in general
was wide open for American settlers. This, in conjunction with new
cotton hybrids that could be grown inland, resulted in large-scale
migrations known as "Alabama Fever". The first river town to form
in the Coosa Basin was at the foot of the last water falls on the
Coosa River, the Devil’s Staircase, with the town name Wetumpka (or
"falling stream") adopted shortly thereafter. The Coosa River
played an important role into the early 20th century as a
commercial waterway for riverboats along the upper section of the
river for 200 miles south of Rome. However, shoals and waterfalls
such the Devil's Staircase along the river's lowest 65 miles
blocked the upper Coosa's riverboats from access to the Alabama
River and the Gulf of Mexico. The building of the dams on the
Coosa--Lay, Mitchell and Jordan--allowed Alabama Power to pioneer
new methods of controlling and eliminating Malaria which was a
major health issue in rural Alabama in the early 1900's. So
successful were their pioneering efforts in this area, that the
Medical Division of the League of Nations visited Alabama to study
the new methods during the construction of Mitchell Dam.[1] The
Popeye The Sailorman cartoons were inspired by Coosa River
riverboat life and characters of the early 1900s in Rome, GA.[2]
Requirements for logging the cache must be completed with in 10
days form logging the find: 1. Upload a picture of you and GPSr and
the rivers behind you. 2. Email through our profile, the answers to
the following questions, do not post them on the cache page: A.
Calculate the flow rate in "Feet Per Second" for the Coosa River
and the Oostanaula river. This may be done by measuring a distance
along each of the rivers banks, floating an object from your
starting point to the ending point, and recording the time it takes
the object to float the distance. Once the "Distance" and "Time"
are determined, calculate the "Feet Per Second" for EACH River.
Then calculate by using these two to estimate the flow rate of the
Etowah river. B. Estimate within +/- 25 yards, the width of the
Coosa River in yards, from the Waypoint to the nearest bank on the
far side of the river. Estimate within +/- 20 yards, the width of
Oostanaula river in yards, from the Waypoint to the nearest bank. N
34° 15.282 W 085° 10.533
Additional Hints
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