To Move a Mountain EarthCache
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Posted co-ordinates will take you to a municipal road right of way where roadside parking is available along the east side of Warden Avenue. From here, you are able to see the entire south-facing side of the mountain.
In September 2004, the Township of Georgina set forth with an ambitious and controversial plan to construct a "Tube and Terrain" park which would serve the area's recreational needs by offering activities such as snow tubing, snowboarding, tobogganing and in summer for biking and hiking activities. The plan came into play with the idea that soil from a nearby water and sewer excavation project on the lake would be more than sufficient to create a mountain of the appropriate proportion to support these activities.
A mountain in excess of 25 meters high and with a ground area of more than 5 acres was proposed based on the amount of available soil and area in which to construct. It was suggested to the Georgina Town Council that this size of mountain would easily support 6 to 8 downmountain snow lanes of varying slopes ranging from 10 percent to 40 percent grade, offering thrillseekers the most possible speed for there desire.
As of September 6th, 2006, construction of the mountain had progressed for more than a year. Excavated soils from the Water and Sewer project along the shores of Cooks Bay from Keswick to Willow Beach had been trucked to the location of the mountain and had been deposited on site for 4 weeks. Over the period of 4 weeks, the mountain had exceeded the expected 25 meter height estimate; being built to a height of close to 30 meters. As deposit and grading work moved forward, it was very quickly realized that the volume of excavated soil from the nearby water and sewer project would not be sufficient to complete the sheer volume and expanse of the proposed mountain. With this realization, the town set out to accept tenders for additional fill from nearby contractors and other construction projects. After all was said and done, close to 1 million cubic feet of soil derived both locally and regionally were installed to the mountain location. With the geographical terrain being relatively low lying and flat, the mountain stands out as one of the tallest geographical features, let alone, man-made elements of the local landscape.
The "Slide":
As Spring 2006 approached, distressing reports from contractors and engineers were beginning to surface surrounding the mountain and its structural integrity. What was concerning engineers the most seemed to be that the "Free" fill which was removed from the nearby Water and Sewer project excavations had been removed and deposited at the mountain site in a frozen state. As construction had continued on the mountain, outsourced fill which was mostly packed and void of mositure had been added to the top of the frozen fill. As the spring thaw occurred, the soil which had been laid in a frozen state began to liquify as the moisture content of the soil grew warmer. With the liquidity of this soil increasing, eventually, its support gave way to the more dry, more dense soil which had been added above it. What resulted, was a colossal collapse of an entire quarter of the mountain to the Northern side. It was estimated that more than 200,000 cubic meters of moisture laden soil had spilled over an area of close to 5 acres.
The Aftermath:
Not knowing the extent of moisture content within the mountain proved to be a halting point for all further construction of the mountain. It was decided that until it could be determined how to remove excess moisture in a rapid fashion, the mountain would not proceed. Without rapid moisture removal and left to it's own natural process, it was indicated that moisture depletion could take up to 20 years. It was proposed that a process to remove excess moisture from inside the tube and terrain park mountain had a good chance of succeeding. The moisture extraction was to involve injecting water into the mountain which would combine with existing moisture. the entire soluable water content would then be extracted through a weeping tile system to the side of the mountain. This prompted town staff to build a fence around it, ending any hope of using it for recreation over the coming winter.
In addition to the collapse of the mountain's structure, several other problems arose over the next year. Tests done on water run-off from the mountain destined to drain into Lake Simcoe, found six naturally occurring and two man-made chemicals. The six elements exceed York Region's storm sewer discharge limits and the other two, mercury and a thalide marginally exceeded the maximum allowable levels of Ontario drinking water and groundwater standards under the Environmental Protection Act. Along with these findings, Phosphorus, nitrates and manganese were also found. Again, work on the recreation mountain had been stopped until a study on contaminants was completed.
Landslide Triggering Mechanisms:
The soils on most mountainsides are in a stable state. If they were unstable a landslide would have taken them to the bottom of that mountainside a long time ago. The landslides that we see today occur when natural processes or human activities disturb a stable slope. The processes and activities that cause landslides are frequently referred to as "triggering" conditions. Although people trigger a few landslides most are triggered by natural processes. A summary of landslide triggering conditions is given below.
Several factors were responsible for triggering the landslide in the case of this mountain. There is more than one possible option outlined on the page through the link provided below. To log this cache, please provide a picture of yourself from the co-ordinates, with the mountain in the background. Additionally, please pick an appropriate triggering mechanism from the following page URL and in an email to me, describe how it contributed to the landslide in this case.
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