About the location:
South Chickmauga is a tributary of the Tennessee River. Where
the two join is called a confluence. Every time a creek, stream or
another river flows in to each other, it adds to the flow rate and
ability to carve and relocate nutrients, sediment, and pollutants
along the river basin, all affecting the river basin down
stream.
Follow the Tennessee Riverwalk out to the point. This will be the
best place to view the confluence. You can walk out on one of the
very large boulders to get a better view of the confluence during
the greener months.
The South Chickamauga meanders throu the valley floor spilling into
the Tennessee River.
A lot of sediment is moved from the South Chickamauga into the
river at this point. If you look at google earth, you can see that
the energy of the South Chickamauga moves quite a bit of sediment.
The sediment accumulates along the bank of the river here as it
spills into the Tennessee River. The South Chickamauga enters the
river and creates a sand bar below the stream junction. The
tributary brings more sediment into the channel of the river than
the latter can remove.
All the deposits that occur along stream channels, including bars
of various kinds, natural levees, and floodplan deposits, as well
as deltas and alluvial fans, are only temporary features when
considered from the viewpoint of geologic time. They merely
represent places where debris from the land is halted, for a
shorter or longer period, on its journey "down the geologic gutter"
to the sea. Sooner or later, the material lodged in such deposits
is removed, and eventually finds its way to a resting place below
sea level. It may come to rest in a large delta or it may be seized
upon by waves and currents and spread out on the shallow sea floor
as layers of sediment.
At the coordinates, you will be at the point of which South
Chickamauga and the Tennessee River come together. The South
Chickamauga is one of the many tributaries of the Tennessee River.
You will need to do a little excersize to get credit for this
earthcache by performing a few tasks and hopefully, you will learn
something in the process.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
1. Upload a picture of you and GPSr and the with South Chickamauga
in the background.
2. Email through our profile, the answers to the following
questions, do not post them on the cache page:
A. Calculate the flow rate in "Feet Per Second" for the South
Chickamauga Creek and the Tennessee River. This may be done by
measuring a distance along each of the rivers banks, floating an
object from your starting point to the ending point, and recording
the time it takes the object to float the distance. Once the
"Distance" and "Time" are determined, calculate the "Feet Per
Second" for waterway.
B. Estimate the width of the South Chickamauga Creek where it comes
into the Tennessee River from the Waypoint to the nearest
bank.
C. The South Chickamauga carries sediment into the Tennessee River.
Is the sediment build up on the same side or South Chickamauga or
the opposite side of the waypoint for this earthcache?
D. Which direction does the South Chickamauga flow? North, south,
east, west, or degrees is acceptable for answer.
E. What measures has the parks department taken to reduce erosion
at the confluence?
A confluence is describes the meeting of point two or more
bodies of water at a single location. Joining together, these two
rivers have greatly increased their ability to carve its way
through the landscape from this point on to the confluence of the
Tennessee River. Other factors affecting the flow rate of a river
are referred to as Catchment factors and all determine the amount
of water that reaches the rivers. Catchment factors are:
topography, shape, size, soil type and land use (paved or roofed
areas). Catchment topography and shape determine the time taken for
rain to reach the river, Catchment size, soil type and development
determine the amount of water to reach the river. This confluence
has been an important location through out history also. Below you
will find some tidbits I have added to this cache page. From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catchment factors
The catchment is the most significant factor determining the amount
or likelihood of flooding.
Topography
Topography determines the speed with which the runoff will reach a
river, clearly rain that falls in steep mountainous areas will
reach the river faster than flat or gently sloping areas.
Shape
Shape will contribute to the speed with which the runoff reaches a
river. A long thin catchment will take longer to drain than a
circular catchment.
Size
Size will help determine the amount of water reaching the river, as
the larger the catchment the greater the potential for
flooding.
Soil type
Soil type will help determine how much water reaches the river.
Certain soil types such as sandy soils are very free draining and
rainfall on sandy soil is likely to be absorbed by the ground.
However, soils containing clay can be almost impermeable and
therefore rainfall on clay soils will run off and contribute to
flood volumes. After prolonged rainfall even free draining soils
can become saturated, meaning that any further rainfall will reach
the river rather than being absorbed by the ground.
Land use
Land use will contribute to the volume of water reaching the river,
in a similar way to clay soils, only faster. Rainfall on roofs,
pavements and roads will be collected by rivers with almost no
absorption into the groundwater.