Wetlands in Anchorage EarthCache

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Hidden : 3/5/2009
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Posted coordinates take you to the site, located in Anchorage, Kentucky, near Little Goose Creek.

Although the soils and underlying rocks officially put Louisville in the Bluegrass region, the city's landscape is better described as being in a very wide part of the Ohio River flood plain. Louisville's part of the valley is located between two plateaus, the karst plateau of Southern Indiana and the Bluegrass plateau of Kentucky, both with an elevation of around 900 feet. Elevations drop off the Indiana plateau very sharply via the Muldraugh Escarpment, whereas the rise in elevation up to the Bluegrass plateau is done more gradually.

The flood plain is much longer north to south than it is east to west. For example, within several miles of downtown, the Highlands sitting at 540 feet is out of the thousand year flood plain, whereas areas 10 miles from downtown such as Fairdale and Okolona (both between seven and 11 miles from the river) have the same elevation as downtown Louisville. Most areas in the east end, including Anchorage, have an elevation from 600 to 700 feet, which, with the typically east bound winds, trap in heat and pollutants. Areas along and west of the south fork of Beargrass Creek (and more generally, I-65) are located where the Ohio River once ran, so the land here is very flat and is composed of harder rocks.

Prior to urbanization much of this area was composed of wetlands — early roads through it were laid over wooden planks. This history is occasionally still readily evident in street names, for example the spoke road Poplar Level, whose name describes its original construction on planks of poplar. 3rd Street was formerly called Central Plank Road for the same reason. As industry, namely Standiford Field airport, moved into the area in the 1950s, most creeks through the area were rerouted into ditches to alleviate the area's poor drainage and constant flooding.

In the 1600's, over 220 million acres of wetlands existed in the lower 48 states (Dahl and Johnson 1991). Since then, extensive losses have occurred, with many of the original wetlands drained and converted to farmland. Today, less than half of the nation's original wetlands remain. As Kentucky ranks among the highest in loss of native wetlands (over 80%), preservation of wetlands on private land has become a key interest.

Wetlands are important because they prevent flooding by holding water much like a sponge. By doing so, wetlands help keep river levels normal, accepting water during storms and whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release water. Wetlands also serve as a natural filtration system for the Earth. As water moves around plants, sediments suspended within the water drop out and settle within the wetland floor. Nutrients from fertilizer applications, manure, leaking septic tanks, and sewage dissolve in the water and are absorbed by plant roots and microorganisms in the soil. This filtration process removes much of the water's excess nutrients and pollutant load by the time it leaves the wetland. Some types of wetlands are so efficient at this filtration function that environmental managers construct similar artificial wetlands to treat storm water and wastewater.

"Wetlands" is the collective term for marshes, swamps, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands are found in flat vegetated areas, in depressions on the landscape, and between water and dry land along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes, and coastlines.

Wetlands are where earth and water meet. They are almost as old as the planet itself, and are home to some of the richest biodiversity on Earth. They are to be found all over the world from the tropics to the frozen plains and are as crucial to the planet's well-being as any other finely balanced part of nature.

Geological significance of the site links to the Jeffersonville Limestone. While the thickest exposures are at the Falls of the Ohio, where whole and broken fossils are conspicuous; Along Goose Creek and Little Goose Creek, the Jeffersonville Limestone pinches out beneath an unconformity southward against the northwest-facing flank of the northeast-trending Lyndon syncline (Kepferle, 1974). Zonation of the unit based on fossils has been proposed by numerous workers, including Oliver (1960), Perkins (1963), Stumm (1964, p. 7-9), and Conkin and Conkin (1972, p. 311-317). The detailed ecological relations of some of the corals in the Jeffersonville Limestone at the Falls have been studied by Kissling and Lineback (1967). Evidence of the shallow-water origin of the initial carbonates is provided by abundant large colonial corals in the basal part of the Jeffersonville Limestone in the immediate vicinity.



In order to claim this Earthcache as a "find," please upload a photo of yourself at the wetlands conservation site in your log and submit answers to the following questions via email to joshualanebrown@aol.com

1. What are two functioning roles of a wetland?

2. Referencing the on-site display, what human organ is most like a wetland?


Special thanks to Chuck Taylor with the Kentucky Geological Society for assistance.

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