Snoqualmie Oxbow Lakes EarthCache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Rivers are a natural land feature and by definition flow from a point of high elevation to the sea. They prefer the path of least resistance and less distance.
Oxbow Lakes
An oxbow lake is a crescent-shaped body of water usually adjacent to an existing river, although by definition it does not necessarily need to be completely separated from the river. As a river flows through a flat plain, its path meanders wildly with many curves.
Snoqualmie River Meandering Near Carnation
This process is completely natural and can take place over years or decades. All along the Snoqualmie you can see oxbow lakes of varying ages, ranging from some being a clean lake to others being an overgrown, stagnant swamp only noticeable from satellite imagery. In Australia they are called billabongs and around Mississippi they are called bayous.
Logging Requirements
The above co-ordinates are only a suggestion for a vantage point. If you find another oxbow lake within the Snoqualmie Valley that it with a reasonable distance of the provided co-ords, that will be sufficient.
E-mail me the following answers through my geocaching profile to log the find. You do not need to wait for authorization before logging.
1.) From your chosen location, tell me what stage of development the oxbow lake is in. Is it flowing or stagnant? What color is the water?
2.) What is the approximate width of the lake?
3.) What is the approximate length of your lake's arc?
4.) Take a waypoint at the lake you chose so I can check your answers.
5.) Describe what point of your lake would have experienced the most erosion?
6.) A fully formed oxbow lake has very little water movement. Measure the water movement by dropping a leaf in the water. If there IS movement, time how long the leaf takes to travel approximately 10 meters. Translate this calculation into meters per second.
Optional: Take a picture of your group at the site.
Although many of these answers could be found or guessed without visiting the site, you would be cheating yourself out of the experience. King County is a beautiful region of Washington State and well worth the visit!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)