Pioneer Park Ravine EarthCache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
I thought Mercer Island needed an Earthcache ....
Mercer Island is home to many ravines, all around the island. Most of the ravines drop down from the main perimeter roadways – West and East Mercer Way – toward the lake. However the interior of the island also contains some ravines, notably in Island Crest Park and in Pioneer Park, among other places.
A ravine is essentially a very small valley, which is often the product of natural erosion from a stream. Ravines are typically larger in scale than gullies, and smaller than valleys. A ravine is slope of relatively steep sides, which are usually on the order of twenty to seventy percent gradient.
Ravines may or may not have active streams flowing along the channel which originally formed them; often ravines are home to intermittent streams, since their geographic scale may not be large to support a perennial watercourse, such as a valley from a larger water source. (Source: Wikipedia)
Mercer Island’s ravines largely appear to have been formed by streams that result from natural springs, which are found all throughout the island.
Pioneer Park offers a pretty trail and a nice Ravine Overlook where you can observe in person this land feature which is so prevalent on the island.
To find the Pioneer Park Ravine, park your vehicle at the posted Parking coordinates, an official parking area where there is also a Trail Map posted. Walk down the Maple Trail, and then along the Overlook Trail. It should be obvious when you have found the correct location. There should be no need to leave the trails or overlook area, or to disturb any vegetation, in order to successfully log this earthcache.
In order to secure an approved "Found It" log of this earthcache, please email me the answers to the following questions (dont place them in your post for others to see). Please remain on trails at all times - if you need to hike down into the ravine, please go down on established and maintained trails.
Questions:
1. Was this ravine caused by an active stream?
2. If so, is the stream visible from the Overlook?
3. What is your estimate of the gradient of the sloped walls of the ravine? a. 20% b. 60% c. 80%
4. What does the Parks Department sign instruct you to stay off of? >> SIGN IS CURRENTLY MISSING, DISREGARD THIS QUESTION
5. Find the small wooden sign on the big tree - what does it say?
"Found It" logs that are not accompanied by an email with the above information, within two days of posting, will be deleted.
If you are interested, there is also a letterbox location very close by, which is part of a series in Pioneer Park.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures