This cache was hidden for the Spring Cache Challenge event; please
do not begin the hunt until 6pm on Friday, May 1st, 2009. The
yellow trail will take you for an easy hike (less than a kilometre)
from the parking lot to the cascades. Some hiking is required on
the bedrock which may become slippery at times.
The Cascades Conservation Area is owned by the Lakehead Region
Conservation Authority (LRCA). The hours of operation are 7:00 am
to 11:00 pm. A visitor fee is required of $2.00 per vehicle or you
could purchase an annual Explorer Card for $30.00 to enjoy
unlimited access to the LRCA’s Conservation Areas.
The cascades on the Current River are the conservation area’s
namesake. It is the sudden change in elevation that causes the
river to cascade for a kilometre over rapids and small waterfalls.
The Current River watershed covers an area of approximately 650
square kilometres, of which 20 percent is located within the City
of Thunder Bay. The Current River flows south for 65 kilometres
from its headwaters of Onion Lake to Lake Superior and falls over
300 metres.
The conservation area is located on the Gunflint formation. The
Gunflint formation is a sequence of iron-rich rocks, alternating
with layers of red, yellow and grey chert, which are exposed along
the north shore of Lake Superior. The name is derived from the
glassy chert that was used to produce flint for use in muskets. The
black layers contain microfossils that are 1.9 - 2.3 billion years
old. The presence of rocks rich in iron is evident in the colour of
the water at the Cascades.
The last glaciation in North American reached its maximum extent
about 18,000 years ago. As the ice began to retreat north, several
glacial lakes were formed and one such lake occupied the lake
occupied the Lake Superior basin. As the water levels in the lakes
slowly dropped, the land slowly expanded upward through a process
known as isostatic rebound. As a result, a series of beach terraces
formed across the Current River valley extending down to Boulevard
Lake. The river carried sediment from inland and where it met the
shoreline, features such as deltas were formed. In fact, the
parking lot for the conservation area is located on part of a
former delta. Two distinct shorelines here are the Bluffs, near
Centennial Park and the Boulevard Lake terrace, on which the dam is
built.
The starting coordinates will bring you to the Cascades'
interpretive display.
To log a find on this Earth-cache:
1. What is the elevation at Waypoint 1 (N 48° 29.969’ W 89°
13.455’)?
2. What is the elevation at Waypoint 2 (N 48° 30.160’ W 89°
13.571’)?
3. What is the slope between these two points (rise over
run)?
4. Take a picture of your favourite cacher or GPS with the
Casacades in the background and post it with your log.
Permission for this cache has been granted by the General Manager
of the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority under File
#3A-3-3.
This cache will be archived May 1, 2010.
Hfr gur TCF gb svaq lbhe ryringvba.