Lake of the Shining Shells
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In order to count this Earthcache as a find, you must complete the following tasks and email the answer to me.
1. Estimate the approximate distance across the lake to the north and to the south.
2. Estimate the approximate depth of the lake at ground zero.
3. Estimate the approximate diameter of the island at ground zero.
4. Estimate the weight and size of the boulders that make up Maiden’s Island.
5. Geologically, how did these rocks get here?
This Earthcache is located at Maiden’s Isle, an island in the middle of Lake Kampeska. This cache will be easier to reach in the winter months when the water is frozen and you can walk on the ice to the island. In the summer months, a boat or swimming skills will be needed to reach ground zero. Enjoy!
According to Ried Holien’s article “A Lake by Any Other Name,” South Dakota’s lake names offer many clues to our past. Holien puts South Dakota place names into two categories: logical and not very imaginative. For example, the town Hot Springs is located near hot water springs; the city of Sioux Falls is located near the falls on the Sioux River; the city of Watertown has a lot of liquid near it. Although the majority of the place names in South Dakota are obvious and common sense, these names hold the key to our past. They help us to better understand South Dakota. Holien claims lakes are the best place to start educating ourselves of our past history. Of the 1500 or so lakes in South Dakota, the majority of them are named after the adjoining property owners. The ten Lake Johnsons, seven Lake Andersons, and five Lake Hansons all indicate the Scandinavian ancestors who settled in South Dakota. Bear Killer, Charging Thunder, and Crazy Horse are three of the nearly 200 lakes named for Native Americans. One can also find lakes named after nearby towns (many now ghost-towns). Others have more functional names, such has Two, four, Six, and Nine Mile Lakes, which were named for their distance from military forts or posts. While the majority of South Dakota’s lakes have been named for obvious reasons, a handful are connected with legends from which their name derives. Lake Kampeska in Watertown is one example of such lake.
In Dacotah, Kampeska means “The Lake of the Shining Shells.” Even today, freshwater clams and shells along the shoreline can be found around the lake. The legend of Lake Kampeska centers around the narrowest part of the lake known by locals as Stony Point. When the water is low, an island of rocks can be seen just off the shore at Stony Point. According to legend, however, this island and peninsula should be called Maiden’s Isle.
The small peninsula at Stony Point was once a Sioux campsite (arrowheads can still be found here). Native American legend tells that every Native warrior in the tribe wanted to marry the lovely maiden Minnecotah. However, Minnecotah loved a warrior from the Wahpeton tribe. For months, Minnecotah shunned all suitors, waiting for her love to return. After several months of being shunned, however, the frustrated suitors could not wait any longer. Finally, the Elders of her tribe forced Minnecotah to choose someone for her husband from her own tribe. To delay her decision and perhaps to buy time, Minnecotah suggested a rock-throwing competition. She would marry the man who threw the largest rock the farthest into the lake. For three days, the warriors heaved every rock in sight into Kampeska. As the men competed for Minnecotah, an island of rocks grew in the lake. It was impossible to discern which rock was thrown the farthest because of the ripples in the water.
Minnecotah’s suitors became infuriated when they realized she had tricked him. As punishment, they placed her on the rock island alone (now called Maiden’s Island). She was to stay there and die from hunger unless she chose one warrior to marry. Minnecotah refused to pick a suitor and remained alone on the rocks. She survived by eating bits of fish from the pouch of a mother pelican who took to caring for her young babies on the island. After several weeks, Minnecotah’s lover returned and rescued her from the island.
Today, Maiden’s Island has become a rocky retreat for birds.
While this legend tells a story of the lake and the origin of Maiden’s Island, geology tells another story. Twenty thousand years ago, a glacier of almost unimaginable size moved over what is now eastern South Dakota. Towering 1600 feet from bottom to top, the glacier pummeled every square foot of earth with forty-five tons of pressure. As the glacier moved at the rate of a couple inches per day, it bulldozed the land, forming nearly every noticeable geographical mark that can be seen in the region today.
Over centuries, the glacier advanced, stalled, retreated, and advanced again. When the glacier retreated (began to melt), it deposited sediment and rocks that were once frozen inside. Large ice chunks also fell off when the glacier retreated. As the glacier started to melt away, huge chunks of ice broke fell off the main ice sheet and were left behind. These enormous ice cubes indented the earth where they sat. As the ice chunks melted, the land around them slumped in and created large round holes that later filled with water. Some of these holes were filled in by glacial streams, which were formed by the steady trickle of melting ice. Other holes were filled when the melting glacier sent forth a massive flood. These are the glacial lakes that now dot the landscape. Over 120 of these glacial lakes (about two-thirds of the state’s total) can be found in northeastern South Dakota - Lake Kampeska included.
Resources:
Holien, Ried. "A Lake by Any Other Name." South Dakota Magazine, July/August 1998: 88-93. Print.
NOT A LOGGING REQUIREMENT: Feel free to post pictures of your group at the area or the area itself - I love looking at the pictures.
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