SE Wetlands-The Salt Marsh-Skidaway Island S P EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

GeorgiaTreasureQuester: I do not know how long it will take for the interpretive center to be rebuilt. Therefore, this earthcache is being archived. Perhaps, someone can place a different earthcache at this location at a later date. Thanks to everyone who has visited.

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Hidden : 4/15/2009
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Please note that The Park Interpretive Center / Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. You will need to visit The Park Interpretive Center / Museum for some of the information needed for this earthcache.

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Wetlands are found all over the world in places where drainage of water is impeded or in areas adjacent to flood plains, deltas and estuaries of large rivers. A wetland is any water-logged or flooded land area that has a covering of water plants, either floating or rooted. The water is often just several inches to a few feet deep and not all wetlands are flooded year round. Some are seasonal wetlands. Any wet area is not by definition a wetland. Wetlands can be thought of as a land area where salt water or fresh water stands or moves over the surface of the land. Wetlands comprise approximately six percent of the earth’s surface. The official definition of a wetland was determined in 1971 when delegates from many countries met in Ramsar, Iran. According to the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are all areas of marsh, fen, peat land, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt.

Wetlands are highly important ecosystems, which support a large variety of adapted animals and plants as well as water birds and many varieties of fish. Some wetlands are important reservoirs for the human populations near them. Wetlands also provide a source for human recreational activities in some areas.

There are many types of wetlands throughout the Southeastern United States, such as deepwater swamps, Carolina bays, mountain fens, pondcypress swamps, wet flatwood areas, bogs, mangrove swamps and salt marsh areas.

This particular earthcache will briefly discuss the most common type of coastal wetland, which is the salt marsh. Salt marsh is most often found in sheltered areas behind ridges or barrier islands or in brackish conditions of estuaries where flowing rivers enter the ocean.

Along the coast of Georgia, between the mainland and barrier islands, is a very long belt of salt marsh ranging in size from four to eight miles wide. The salt marsh along the Georgia coast extends for approximately a hundred miles from Tybee Island to Cumberland Island and lies at the head of the South Atlantic Bight. This South Atlantic Bight is largely responsible for the considerable range of Georgia’s tides and the extent of its salt marshes.

The South Atlantic Bight extends from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina down to Miami, Florida. The tidal exchange at each end of the bight is from one to three feet. However, at the center of the bight, at the head of the Georgia embayment, water piles up as it funnels in to the inward curving coastline of Georgia. This results in much greater tidal exchange along Georgia’s coast of six to nine feet. Because the Coastal Plain is gradually down sloped, a huge area on the Georgia coast is flooded at high tide and exposed at low tide. This has lead to development of an extensive network of marsh systems along the Georgia coast. Geographically the coastline of Georgia is short. But, because of the marsh network, Georgia’s Lower Coastal Plain contains one-third of all marshland on the eastern coast of the United States. There has been some debate over exactly how much salt marsh Georgia contains. However, The Georgia Department of Natural Resources estimates that the state encompasses more than 378,000 acres of salt marsh.

Georgia has eight barrier island clusters from Tybee Island to Cumberland Island. Barrier island salt marshes are made of Holocene and Pleistocene sands and muds. The outermost of these islands are the primary coasts, which are the youngest and formed during the Holocene period around eighteen-thousand years ago when the last ice age receded. Rising sea levels from melting glaciers created shallow lagoons behind young barrier islands. The islands that lie behind are the secondary coasts are the primary coasts. The secondary coasts are much older and formed forty-thousand years ago during the Pleistocene era. Primary coasts, again the younger or newer coasts are formed by terrestrial processes or by sea level change. Secondary coasts, the older coasts have been shaped by erosional processes or by the activities of marine organisms. Marshes are often formed when the sea level naturally rises, flooding interior portions of the barrier island, which have Pleistocene composition. After the sea level drops, the water recedes to form an island. The island and the shore of the mainland are connected through the system of tidal creeks and streams that make up the marshland.

Basically, a salt marsh forms when changing sea levels carry tides and deposit sediment across low land, which results in wet mudflats. Saltwater grasses then slowly take hold and spread, stabilizing the land through the growth of root systems. As the plants decay and sediment builds up, peat deposits accumulate, forming a rich habitat that supports the growth of hundreds of diverse organisms. Therefore, a salt marsh is a place where the land meets the sea, created through tidal action over thousands of years.

In Georgia, the salt marshes along barrier islands are left largely untouched by the erosive forces of waves. Due largely in part to a shallow continental shelf, wave heights are kept at minimal levels. The Georgia coast is dominated by tides as opposed to high waves and these tides cover the salt marsh with water twice each day.

Tidal creeks wind through the salt marsh, which fills and drains twice per day. At the highest inflow, the creek beds overflow on to their banks, which floods the marsh flats with water. There are higher mud banks surrounding the creeks and these mud banks hold the tallest strands of cordgrass. Beyond the mud banks are low marsh areas, where cordgrass dominates. Beyond the low marsh is high marsh, which is under water for only up to one hour per day.

Salt marshes are important for many reasons. The marshes protect the island from the tidal flow and also absorb much of the impact of storms. The salt marsh supports populations of fish, shellfish, birds and other animals. Georgia's salt marshes are some of the most biologically productive natural systems on Earth. They produce nearly twenty tons of biomass per acre. The enormous productivity helps to make the salt marshes primary nursery areas for shrimp, oysters and blue crabs. Young shrimp and other marine organisms also use salt marshes as shelters and hiding places from predators. Pollution is filtered by the salt marsh.
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Before you head out to walk the trails, be sure to pick up the trail guide(s) that contain information on the Sandpiper Nature Trail and the Big Ferry Interpretive Trail. These guides can be found at the trailheads and the museum. You will find these guides helpful. Currently, there are two separate trail guides for the trails. But, the park will soon have one trail guide that covers both trails.
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In order to log this EarthCache as found, email to me the correct answers to the following questions.

Your first stop will be the park museum/nature center at, N 31 56.973, W 081 03.203. You will find the answers to questions 1 and 2 inside the museum. (Take time to look around, you will find many amazing and interesting things not related to the earthcache inside.)

1. Humans have always used natural resources from their environment. The early settlers of Skidaway Island utilized items of the salt marsh for their daily activities. They used tabby, a mixture of lime and ______ ______, in construction of early buildings on Skidaway Island. What coastal resource was included in the tabby mixture?

2. You will find a diagram of a Generalized Cross-Section of the Georgia Coast in the museum. According to the diagram, what land formations are found between the Mainland and the Atlantic Ocean?

Now make your way to the Sandpiper Nature Trail. The trailhead is just behind the museum.

3. At N 31 57.098, W 081 03.344 you will cross a wooden bridge. Beneath the bridge is a tidal creek. How many times per day does the water in this creek rise?

4. On the same wooden bridge, you will see a sign telling you about a creature that makes its home along tidal marshes and beaches. What is this creature? What feature makes the male of the species easily identifiable?

Now you will need to make your way to the park's observation tower. The observation tower is found along the Big Ferry Trail. (There are several ways to reach the Big Ferry Trail. You may take the connector trail from the Sandpiper Trail or walk or drive along the paved roadway.) If you choose to drive, parking is available at the Big Ferry Trailhead (N 31 57.227, W 081 03.005.)

5. From atop the observation tower, N 31 57.623, W 081 03.245, you will have a great view of the salt marsh and intracoastal waterway. You will also notice areas that have a white, crusty appearance. These areas are known as Salt Flats. What process leads to the white, crusty look of the Salt Flats? (I know I mentioned it before, but you didn't forget your trail guide, did you? If you did, you probably read the sign at the trailhead, right?)

As always, a photo of you with your gpsr is appreciated as proof of your visit. If you have the ability to take and upload a photo showing you and your gpsr on (or near) the observation tower, please do so. If, however, you do not have this ability, don't let that prevent you from visiting Skidaway State Park, learning a bit about the salt marsh and logging this earthcache.
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You should expect to walk approximately two miles to complete this earthcache. The walking distance may be increased depending upon the route you take. Leashed dogs are allowed on the trails, but are not allowed to enter the museum.

As always, remember to stay on the marked trails, Cache In Trash Out, Leave No Trace of your visit, take only photos, and enjoy your visit.
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Skidaway Island State Park is located southeast of Savannah. The park is open daily from 7:00am to 10:00 pm. The main park office is open Sunday through Wednesday from 8:00 am to 5: 00 pm and Thursday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. The Park Interpretive Center / Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. You should also note that the trails allow no walkers after dark.

There is a fee to enter the park, except for Wednesdays when there is no entry fee. (Currently the fee is $5 per vehicle. But, it is good to confirm the fee on the park’s website before your visit.)

Congratulations to southern angel and Superfun Hunters for being FTF.

For more information on Skidaway Island State Park, view their website at http://gastateparks.org/info/skidaway .


It has become necessary for me to add this note to all of my earthcache listings. I request that you email the answers to me on the same day that you log your “found it” log. (This does not have to be the day you visit, just the day you log the find on the computer.) I also request that you do not log a “found it” log unless you have actually visited the site of the earthcache and sent the answers to me. As much as I hate to do so, I will delete logs of finders who have not provided the appropriate answers.

Luhr, James. Smithsonian Earth, Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2005.

Messina/Conner, Michael/William. Southern Forested Wetlands Ecology and Management,CRC Press LLC, 1998.

Moore, Peter. Wetlands, Chelsea House, 2006.

Puterbaugh, Parke. Southeastern Wetlands, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Valley Authority, 1997. (Most of the information was obtained here.)

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Angher vf shyy bs wblf gb gernfher.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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