ORVEC: FoTO Upper Wetland EarthCache
Hidden : 9/13/2008
Difficulty:
4.5 out of 5
Terrain:
5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:



The UPPER Wetland

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Upper Wetland Pool and Castellations

NOTE! This cache is best accessed by paddle. It can be accessed on foot if upper dam spillways are completely closed, usually August - October!

If the lower pool elevation is 20 feet or higher, the location of this earthcache will be under water.

To learn the river elevation, call 502.775.5056 and listen to the one-minute recording. Attempt this on foot only if the forecast is for a stationary or falling LOWER pool! Hiking on a forecast for a rising river can result in injury or death. Sorry.

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History of the Falls Area


Dating back to the Middle Devonian Period, about 387 million years ago, the fossils found here are the remains of over 600 species of marine animals.

If you could go back in time to the Middle Devonian Period, you would find yourself treading water in a warm, tropical sea.

Although the creatures are different, the scene would be similar to swimming in the Bahamas or Australia's Great Barrier Reef today. And the sand beach would look very similar.


THE UPPER FALLS WETLAND

WHAT IS A WETLAND? Wetland is a generic term for all the different kinds of wet habitats where the land is wet for some period of time each year but not necessarily permanently wet.
The wetlands are important feeding and resting areas for migratory birds, such as wood ducks, great blue herons and Canada geese. Grasslands and woodlands found here provide nesting habitat for a variety of birds species including black crowned night herons, kingfishers and osprey.
The water levels change drastically during the year, completely altering the look of the island.

At times in the winter and spring, the water overflows the top of the dam, and hundreds of gulls and terns can be seen circling above the swirling current. In the summer, when the water level is at its lowest, killdeer and sandpipers scoot around on the limestone, while herons catch fish in the shallows.

The few tree species you see, including willow, cottonwood, sycamore and water maple, are here only because they are able to endure the seasonal extremes of wet and dry, current and calm, hot and cold. This can be a violent place.

More than 200 types of flowering plants add color to the scenery throughout most of the year. Common mammals include muskrat, beaver, red fox, groundhogs, raccoons and whitetail deer.
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The federal Clean Water Act defines wetlands as "areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.

Among the most important ecosystems on Earth, the wet ecosystems of bogs, freshwater marshes, prairie potholes, forested swamps, and salt-water estuaries provide critical nesting, rearing, feeding, and stop-over habitat for bird and other wildlife populations in watersheds across the nation.

Wetlands are essential to estuary, river, and watershed health, trapping sediments and cleaning polluted waters, preventing floods, recharging groundwater aquifers, and protecting shorelines.

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The Falls of the Ohio is a special area. Over 265 species of birds and 125 species of fish, along with other wildlife, have been recorded here.
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To protect the wildlife and maintain the environment, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers modified the McAlpine dam by removing several two-foot-tall sections from the top of the wall to create waterfalls. The 'waterfalls' in the dam are called castellations. Castellations have been cut into the wall of the dam so that water refreshes both the upper and lower wetland areas.

These waterfalls allow water to reach the wetlands even in the driest months because the level of the upper McAlpine pool is regulated to maintain the environment for a successful ecological system. It is important to note, however, that the purpose of the dams along the Ohio River is not habitat or flood control, but commercial navigation.
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To Log This Earthcache


NOTE! YOU WILL BE WET and standing in a wetland pond with a limestone floor!


Take a photo of yourself (optional) and your GPSr at the listed coordinate with the 'waterfall' in the background.



And to demonstrate the educational value of your visit, please email the answers to the following questions:

1. How deep is the water here (it's constant)?
2. How tall is the wall?
3. What are the engineered waterfalls called?
4. What is the purpose of the dams along the Ohio River?
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Please LOG THE FIND after sending answers. Do not wait on a reply from me. FINDs which do not meet logging requirements will be quietly removed.

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