Around 12,000 years ago, the Wisconsin Glacier that once covered Michigan was retreating. A glacier is said to be retreating if it is melting faster than it is advancing. As it melted, whatever clay, dirt, gravel, and boulders it was carrying was deposited on the land. The accumulation of this debris makes up the moraine. There are several different types of moraines depending on how an where the debris was deposited. For this earthcache we will be looking at a kame moraine.
A kame is a moundlike hill consisting mostly of sand and gravel deposited at or near the end of a glacier. A kame may be produced either as a delta of a meltwater stream or as an accumulation of debris let down onto the ground surface by the melting glacier. The kames in this area were most likely formed as deltas. As the glacier melted, the meltwater would form streams running over and sometimes through the glacier. The water in these streams would pick up and carry the lighter debris from within the glacier. The larger rocks and boulders would roll along the downward sloping bottom of the stream being pushed along by the flow of the water. When the streams reached the end of the glacier, all this debris was deposited on the land creating huge deltas. Those deltas are the kames that we can see today.
A group of closely associated kames is called a kame field. This area of Lapeer State Game Area is a kame field.
The posted coordinates will put you at a parking area. Use your GPSr to determine the altitude here. Follow the trail to N 43 07.514 W 83 13.664. This will take you to the top of a kame. All along your walk you will see what the glacier left behind. Take note of the soil, rocks and any boulders you may pass. Once at the top of the Kame, use your GPSr to determine the altitude.
To log this earthcache you must do the following:
1) Take a picture of you and your GPSr anywhere along the trail and post with your online log.
2) Email me a description of the soil, rocks and boulders you find along the trail.
3) Email me the difference in altitude between the parking area and the top of the kame.
This EarthCache was developed with permission from the Lapeer State Game Area. A state vehicle permit is required.
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