Battle Creek Cypress Swamp EarthCache
Battle Creek Cypress Swamp
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Battle Creek Cypress Swamp
The facility is open year round and admission is free!
Hours:
Labor Day-Memorial Day
Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sun: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Memorial Day-Labor Day
Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sun: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed County holidays except Memorial, Independence and Labor Days.
Please check their website for the latest information: http://www.co.cal.md.us/BattleCreek
Battle Creek Cypress Swamp
The Battle Creek Cypress Swamp Sanctuary in Calvert County is one of the last remaining sites where the bald cypress tree occurs naturally in the state of Maryland, and is one of the northernmost stands of bald cypress in the United States. Although the range of distribution has remained relatively unchanged, the number and size of bald cypress swamps has declined, largely due to harvesting of the wood and changes in hydrology due to development. Bald cypress trees are tall and massive, achieving heights in excess of 50 meters, growing slowly but living to the ripe old age of 600 years or more.
The Cypress Swamp is an important wetland to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Wetlands are studied for their role in various ecological processes. Wetlands, including Bald cypress Swamps, can absorb additional water. This allows them to act as a buffer for uplands in the event of flooding. They act as a filter for runoff, slowing it down to reduce erosion and absorbing many harmful chemicals before they reach rivers and bays.
Soils in all Maryland bald cypress swamps are saturated and poorly drained, containing high amounts of peaty organic matter. There is almost always standing water, with water levels seasonally or tidally influenced by lunar tide cycles. Surface water is important in the maintenance of these community types; Bald cypress seeds are too heavy to be dispersed far by wind and so depend upon flowing water for dispersal.
Types of Wetlands
Wetlands include bogs, swamps and marshes and shallow water areas of rivers, lakes and ponds. Two major groups of wetlands are found in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: estuarine and palustrine. Estuarine wetlands are tidally-flooded and range in salinity was fresh to salt water. Estuarine wetlands are the marshes found mainly along the shore of the Chesapeake Bay and tidal portions of rivers. Palustrine wetlands are freshwater bogs, marshes, and swamps bordering streams and rivers, filling isolated depressions and fringing lakes and ponds.
Wetlands are further distinguished by their vegetation. Emergent wetlands are made up of grasses, sedges and other leafy, non-woody plants. They are often called marshes or wet meadows. Shrub wetlands are characterized by low- to medium-height woody plants. These are often called bogs or shrub swamps. Forested wetlands are dominated by trees. These include wooded swamps and low-lying hardwood forests near rivers. Sixty-eight percent of the wetlands in the Bay watershed are forested.
Why are Wetlands Important?
Wetlands improve water quality and protect shorelines and property. Wetlands act as buffers by controlling the flow of pollutants into the Bay and its tributary’s. Wetlands also provide critical habitat for hundreds of species of fish, birds, mammals, and invertebrate. Aquatic invertebrates include shrimp, crab and mollusks.
As water runs off the land and passes through a wetland, suspended sediments are trapped by vegetation and settle into the wetland soil. Wetland vegetation filters excess nutrients and suspended solids from precipitation and storm water before they flow into local waterways or soak into groundwater supplies. Chemical contaminants are absorbed and converted by wetlands into less toxic forms. Wetlands also help control erosion and flooding. Just like a sponge, wetlands soak up and hold large amounts of flood and stormwater, then gradually release them. Coastal wetlands act as a protective buffer against erosion by slowing wave action against the shoreline.
Wetlands improve water quality and protect shorelines and property. Wetlands act as buffers by controlling the flow of pollutants into the Bay and its tributary’s. Wetlands also provide critical habitat for hundreds of species of fish, birds, mammals, and invertebrate. Aquatic invertebrates include shrimp, crab and mollusks.
To log this Earth Cache, go to the posted coordinates, email the answers the following questions:
1. Swamps are ___________ _____ _______.
2. This swamp plays an important role in doing what?
3. Optional: Post of picture of you with your GPS at the posted coordinates
Information provided by the Calvert County Parks Department www.calvertparks.org and the Maryland State DNR office www.dnr.state.md.us.
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