Eastern Lake Ontario's Dunes & Wetlands EarthCache
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Eastern Lake Ontario's Dunes & Wetlands
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The sand dunes are along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, located in Southwick Beach State Park, NY. Easy parking & some hiking to see & appreciate the sand, also to answer the questions. Always stay on the paths provided. An entrance fee ($8 per vehicle) is charged when the park is open for camping (approximately mid-May to Columbus Day). Dogs are not allowed on the beach when the park is open for camping.
Permit No. SB-2010-1
The bedrock formations and topography of the eastern Lake Ontario region have a geologic history of more than 400 million years. The surface formations and landforms however have a history no further back than the final advance and retreat of the last glacier 10,000-20,000 years ago. The last glacier (Wisconsin glaciations) receded across the present Lake Ontario basin, melting water from the glacier formed Lake Iroquois, which extended far south of the existing Lake Ontario shoreline. The Lake Iroquois time period (approximately 10,000 and 20,000 years ago) serves as one benchmark use in describing the formation of existing landforms, including the sands, in the eastern lake Ontario region. Following the lake Iroquois period, four distinct lake-levels stages resulted in sand deposits of different types and in different locations on the coastal and upland areas of Lake Ontario basin. These geologic phases resulted in what many consider the most dramatic feature of the eastern Lake Ontario coastal barrier system: the extensive formations of sand dunes, some cresting more than 70 feet above the surface of the lake. These are the highest sand dunes in New York States
Southwick Beach is a New York State Park that lies along an unusual stretch of sandy beach on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. Immediately to the south is the Lakeview Wildlife Management Area, which extends the publicly accessible beach by several miles.
The park and management area lie within a rare, freshwater coastal barrier environment that consists of beaches, sand dunes, embayment and marshes. The barrier system, which extends for roughly 16.5 miles, contains the largest and most extensive freshwater sand dune formations in New York State.
The dunes immediately adjacent to the beach support a plant community dominated by beachgrass. The beachgrass grows runners under the surface of the sand that interlock into a ropelike network, and actually builds the dune by trapping sand. Some tall wormwood plants grow amidst the beachgrass, as do cottonwood trees and sand dune willows.
Cotton wood is the only dune-forming tree in the area. Sand dune willows are fairly rare in New York Ste, but are common woody plant in these dunes. This “beachgrass plant community” stabilizes the dunes against erosion by wind and storm, and enable the growth of a more complex, poison ivy-dune grape-cottonwood plant community” deeper in the dunes.
Beachgrass growth is disrupted by human and animal traffic. In heavily used regions of the eastern Lake Ontario dunes, foot traffic has eliminated this plant community entirely. Without the beachgrass, the sand dunes are blown away by wind. Wooden “walkovers” have been constructed to manage traffic across the dunes between the beach and interior trails and waterways.
The Aeolian process pertain to the activity of the winds and more specifically, to the winds’ ability to shape the surface of the Earth. Winds may erode, transport, and deposit material, and are effective agents in regions with sparse vegetation and a large supply of unconsolidated sediments. Although water is a much more powerful eroding force than wind, the Aeolian process is important in arid environments.
To log this Earthcache as find email the answers to the following questions, do not post them on the web page. Optional photos may be posted on the web page and greatly appreciated. 1. Is there any evidence of an Aeolian process in the area; if there are, give an example or photo? 2. Roughly how long does this barrier extend; in which directions. 3. What is one of the primary aquatic plants in the wetland east of the dunes? 4. Are there any trees on the beach where the water lap the beach? If so how, many? #5. Describe a "Blowout".
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