Confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
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This is an EarthCache. The coordinates takes you to the Missouri side of the confluence. Stop and read ALL of the information around the first waypoint.
To access this area, go north approximately 2.5 miles from the I-270 Riverview Drive exit. Riverview Drive becomes Columbia Bottom Road at it’s junction with Larimore Road. Follow this road and it will take you to the entrance of the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area.
Follow the paved road, it will lead you to a parking lot that is located next to the Interpretive Site. Take a few minutes to read about this location, then proceed along the boardwalk to the Observation Platform, which is wheelchair accessible. At that point you will enjoy a panoramic view of where these two mighty rivers merge.
Two Rivers -- The Missouri and Mississippi:
These two rivers share many similarities; both have a lot of silt in them that is supported by the swirling currents, both constantly change or modify their crooked paths and sand and gravel bars appear and disappear, and although this makes it dangerous for navigation both rivers are navigable and they serve the entire Midwest with a water route for shipping large quantities of raw materials and products.
- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 6/2002, Geology Survey and Resource Assessment Division fact sheet number 21, describes the geologic and earth science value of these two mighty rivers better than I can. Portions of that fact sheet are quoted, as follows:
“Of the geology and geography of the two river systems, endless theories have been set forth and a continuous scientific discussion threads its way through modern literature. Unusual geologic features are common place on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Oxbow lakes, which are large, crescent-shaped bodies of water that were left in low-lying areas when the river changed course across meander loops, decorate the flat flood plains along either side of both rivers. There are also scenic spots where the rivers left tall pinnacles of rock standing like towers. Castle Rock, on the Mississippi is an example of this unique occurrence. Tavern Rock, on the Missouri, is a typical bluff. It is often noted in the history and folklore of the rivers and was visited by Lewis and Clark.”
“The flood plains of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers cover hundreds of square miles in this state and provide citizens with rich, tillable acreage for producing Missouri’s excellent agricultural products. A second feature of the flood plains is the tremendous amount of good quality groundwater which can be drawn from shallow wells in the alluvial deposits along the rivers. The river water seeps deep into the gravel and sediment beds and is pumped for use after this very efficient filtering process removes most of the river’s impurities. Some of these shallow wells produce as much as 2,000 gallons of water per minute.”
“High loess bluffs (yellowish gray loam; silt), deep limestone gorges, “lost” hills and cut-off meanders, and millions of tons of sand and gravel, which are deposited along the almost shoreless banks, entice the scientist to a more thorough study of the origin and development of these majestic waterways.”
Earth Caching is ---
for those who love the Out-of-Doors, and
want to learn something about the geology/earth science of
this planet that we live on.
The Treasure You Find is in the Lessons you Learn.
Leave No Trace !!!
Many thanks to Mr. Tom Leifield, Wildlife Management Biologist, Missouri Department of Conservation, for granting permission to establish this site as an EarthCache.
Address: Columbia Bottom Conservation Area
801 Strodtman Road
St. Louis, MO 63138
Telephone Number: (314) 877-6019 Ext 24
This area is closed to public use from one-half hour after sunset until one-half hour before sunrise daily except for authorized hunting and fishing activities and launching and landing boats. The Visitor Center is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays; it is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
IN ORDER TO LOG THIS FIND YOU MUST:
You do not need to go to the river’s edge to log this find; just click on my profile and e-mail answers for the following questions to me.
Do not post your answers when you log in your find. Logs which do not meet the requirements to claim the find will be deleted.
1) What is the name of the small town that was once located in this river bottom, but was gone by 1870?
2) At the coordinates, how deep was the floodwater of 1993?
3) List, in order of depth, the four years that major floods occurred.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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