These coordinates will take you to an interpretive sign between
miles 5 and 6 of the Greenway Trail between Leetonia and Lisbon,
OH. This is probably one of the more remote areas of the trail, so
depending on where you park, you may have a long walk or bike ride.
I suggest doing this on a bike, as the Greenway Trail is a
beautiful trail along Little Beaver Creek, offering opportunities
to enjoy some nice scenery, and if you are lucky, some interesting
wildlife, such as the songbirds and waterfowl that call the creek
and associated riparian area home. Additionally, there are a nice
collection of caches along the trail, including the beehive oven
Earthcache in Leetonia, one of my favorites (GC1W8FY).
There is a bench at the coordinates where you can take a rest
and enjoy the scenery, while contemplating the Earthcache.
The sign details the interesting ecosystem of streamside
forests. While looking at the sign, you will notice the trail is
built on a narrow ledge above Little Beaver Creek, and there is a
steep hill both above and below the trail. For this Earthcache, you
will learn a little about the importance of the forest and the
steepness of the hill where you are standing.
The angle of repose refers to the property of granular
materials, such as soil, to form a conical pile when poured onto a
horizontal surface. The angle is given by a number between 0 and 90
degrees.
The critical angle of repose is the steepest angle
relative to the horizontal plane when material on the slope face is
on the verge of sliding. In other words, this is the maximum angle
at which an object can rest on an inclined plane without falling
down. The critical angle of repose is what gives volcanoes their
distinctive cone-like shape and dictates the shape of sand and
gravel piles at a quarry. This angle is an important factor for
engineers when designing large projects, such as road cuts. This
angle can vary and depends on many factors such as the density,
surface area, and shape and type of the materials in a pile:
materials with a low critical angle of repose form flatter piles
(think of a pile of fine sand or a more mafic volcano such as
Kilauea), while materials with a high critical angle of repose form
steeper piles (think of a pile of boulders or a volcano like Mt.
St. Helens). For soil, the critical angle of repose can vary
between 30 and 45 degrees, depending on the type and content of the
soil.
To claim this Earthcache, first estimate the angle of repose of
the hill where you’re standing according to the following
diagram (the angle in this diagram may not actually represent the
actual angle of the hill):
Email the cache owner with answers to the following
questions:
1. Is the angle of repose of this streamside forest hill greater
than or less than the critical angle of repose for soil (soil has a
critical angle of repose between 30 – 45 degrees)?
2. If the angle of repose is greater than the critical angle of
repose for soil, how can the hillside be this steep without sliding
into the creek? Think about the ecosystem when answering this
question.
3. Speculate on the effect that addition of water may have on
the angle of repose. (Hint: what happens to slopes when it rains
heavily?)
4. What might happen to this slope if the forest were
logged?
5. Name three things that make streamside forests important.
There are six possible answers to this question, be sure to read
the sign!
6. Name one of the many birds that call the streamside forest
home (check out the sign for this one, too!)
Do not post answers to these questions in the log, answers must
be sent to cache owner. Logs without an attempt at all questions
will be deleted. Answers do not have to be correct, but Earthcaches
are designed with intent to educate, so any attempts at learning
will be accepted, logs with no answers or lame answers will be
deleted!
Thanks to Arf2-D2 for helping edit the text for this Earthcache
and including some interesting volcano information!