Nipekamew Sand Cliffs EarthCache
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Nipekamew Sand Cliffs
© Copyright (2009) Northbound
Access and Parking:
From hwy 165, turn south onto the access road and travel to the parking coordinates, where the trailhead begins. Hike the 1.3km trail which will take you through the forest to the posted coordinates at the edge of the water on the west side of the Nipekamew river overlooking one of the sand cliffs. There are a total of three cliffs within a few hundred meters of each other.
NOTE: The Nipekamew Sand Cliffs are located on Provincial Park Protected Land and visitors are recommended to stay on the West side of the river to view the sand cliffs from across the river. For your own protection and for the protection of the fragile formations, only access the sand cliff area from the West side and do NOT touch, slide down, deface or climb the sand cliffs.
© Copyright (2009) Northbound
About the Cliffs
The Nipekamew Cliffs are made up of sandstone and grit that was deposited in a fluviatile (river)-channel system that ran through the Molanosa Paleo-uplands approximately 110 million years ago during the Lower Cretaceous period of geologic time. These sandstones make up part of what is known in the geological community as the Waseca Member of the Mannville Group.
The sands in the cliffs originated from the nearby Precambrian Shield to the north during a period of uplift. Subsequent erosion during the uplift of the shield would have created rapid discharge of sediments from the shield area. These sediments then passed through the river system and into the marine Waseca basin of the Meadow Lake Paleo-lowland to the south and west of this area. This resulted in the deposition of thick sand bodies with the areal appearance of a fan or delta. It is also possible that this uplift to the north may have coincided with, or been a result of, magmatic intrusions responsible for the diamondiferous (potentially diamond bearing) kimberlite fields that are being explored today on the flanks of the ancient Molanosa Dome.
The patterns seen in the Nipekanew Sand Cliffs are known as cross-beds, which are tilted sedimentary structures formed by sand moving up one side of a ripple and down the other, and can be used to determine the direction of flow in ancient rivers.
The cliffs themselves were formed by erosion as the Nipekamew River cut down through the section during the recent Holocene Epoch of the Late Quaternary geologic time period (11,000 yrs to present).
The information in this section “About The Cliffs” is adapted from the 2003 Saskatchewan Energy and Resources Report #223 titled Jura-Cretaceous Success Formation and Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group of Saskatchewan by J.E. Christopher.
The largest user of Saskatchewan's silica sand in the area is Flin Flon's Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd., who uses it as a fluxing agent to remove impurities from ore, resulting in a more refined metal.
To log this Earthcache as a Find, you must complete the following and email me the answers:
1. Examine the loose sand material at the base of the sandcliff. Answer the following questions: What color is the material and what substances does it appear to be comprised of? How does this sand compare to sand you have seen in other locations in Saskatchewan or elsewhere for fineness, texture and color? Without touching the sandcliff itself, would you say the cliff material looks porous or solid? hard or soft?
2. Estimate the height of one of the cliffs and email me your estimate. Height can be estimated by one of the following methods:
a) use a stick or other measuring device held at eye level in your hand then follow the instructions below for estimating height and width or
b) wade across the river to take a waypoint reading with your GPS, then following the instructions below for estimating height.
3. Post a picture of yourself holding your GPS with the sand cliff in the background.
DO NOT post the answers to the questions above in your log!
Estimating the height of the cliffs using the method described below is to teach the geocacher how to estimate the dimensions of a fragile formation without touching it.
Estimating Height of Cliff:
1. Using a tape measure or stick, hold the stick out in front of you with your arm straight so the bottom of the stick is parallel with your eye and is lined up with the bottom of the sand cliff being measured.
2. Mark on the stick or with the tape measure the top of the cliff as seen with your eye.
3. Measure the height on the stick using your preferred units (ie: centimetres or inches). Call this measurement S.
4. Measure the distance between the stick and the bottom of the sand cliff. This can either be done by estimating the width using the instructions below, or by wading across the river to take a waypoint reading with the GPS. Call this measurement L.
5. Measure the length of your arm from your eye to your palm (stick). Call this measurement A.
6. Cliff height is as follows:
Height = (S(A+L))/A
Estimating Width of River:
1. Pick out a point across the river such as a tree. Call the tree A.
2. Drive a stake into the ground on your side of the river in line with the tree.
3. Walking parallel to the riverbed, make a base line of any convenient length (ie: 10m)and drive a stake into the ground at this location. Call this stick C.
4. Continue to walk along the riverbed in the same direction for half the length you had measured (ie: 5m). Drive a stake in the ground and call this location D.
5. Make a 90 degree turn with your back to the river and walk inland until you can sight your first stake C in line with the tree across the river. Mark this spot as E.
6. Measure the distance between marker D and marker E.
7. Double this distance and you will have a pretty accurate measurement of the river width.
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I'd like to thank the LaRonge Visitor Information Centre for their permission in promoting this natural feature and Exploration and Geological Services department of Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources for the geological history of the cliffs and surrounding area.
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