This Earthcache is located in Cummingston Park. The park hours are 6 am - 11 pm. There is a pathway that leads you right to the pond location. Parking can be found at:
N 42 32°.260 W 83 10°.540
Crawfish Pond is a vernal pond that was built as an Eagle Scout project and was completed in the fall 2008. This pond is in its first natural year of its development.
A vernal pond is a contained basin depression lacking a permanent above ground outlet. This pond fills with the melt water and runoff of winter and spring snow and rain. Vernal ponds may become covered with ice in the winter months. Most contain water for a few months in the spring and early summer. By late summer, a vernal pool is generally (but not always) dry.
The water collects here because beneath this vernal pond lies a hard claypan layer in the soil. The general characteristic of claypan is that of being a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water. Claypan is a dense, compact, slowly permeable layer in the subsoil having a much higher clay content than the overlying soil. Claypan is usually hard when dry, and plastic and sticky when wet. It limits or slows the downward movement of water through the soil. This is what helps keep the water in the pond.
The name ‘vernal’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Vernalis’ which means spring. These are called Vernal (spring) Ponds as that is the time of year they will have the most water in them. Vernal ponds can range in size from small to large. They might be as small as your back yard swimming pool while others might have a surface area over an acre in size. Because they are quite shallow and most go dry almost every year, they cannot support fish.
A typical pool might be 30 feet by 100 feet long and 3 feet in depth. Ponds can be found in forest low spots, a floodplain, vegetated wetland, an open field and just about anywhere there is a low spot water can pool up.
These ponds are seasonal breeding and feeding grounds of many woodland species. Because they are shallow and the water temperature remains warm, it supports many types of plant and wildlife. In North America, approximately one-half of all frogs and one-third of all salamander species rely on seasonal wetlands for development. Reptiles such as box turtles and the garter snakes use vernal ponds as feeding stations. Bats are attracted to them as a water source and to the insects that fly over the water.
Most people do not recognize these as ponds and nor do they realize how important they are in nature.
The requirements to log this cache must be completed as follows:
1) Post a photo of your GPS, your Team with the pond in the background. Post this with your log.
Please do not post your answers to your log.
E-mail us with your answer to get credit for this cache. To log this Earthcache, you must complete these tasks:
2) Report to us in the email if there is water in the pond.
3) If so, estimate how deep and how wide is this pond.
4) What time of the year are you looking at the pond?
5) Based on the time of year of your visit, would you expect there to be:
a lot of water, some but not much, or none?
PLEASE NOTE: I will not be sending follow up requests for answers. If you do not complete the requirements,your log will be deleted. In order to claim this Earth Cache, you must follow through with the requirements, not just visit the site.
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