Cedar Point Tideland Trail EarthCache
This cache has been locked, but it is available for viewing.
Cedar Point Tideland Trail
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(other)
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Cedar Point Tideland Trail - Earth Cache
The posted coordinates will take you to the parking area near the start of the Cedar Point Tideland Trail. All the information you will need to complete the cache will be located on signs along the walkway.
Stay on the well maintained trails. No need to go off of the designated trail for any reason to fulfill the cache.
We love to bring our dogs here for a nice, relaxing and educational stroll. It’s a well kept area that is accessible to all. If you bring your four-legged friends be sure to have them on a leash and pick up after your pets.
Note: Difficulty rating is 2 only because you have to walk the 1.3 trail to answer the questions. Terrain is 1.5 because there are slight elevation changes and hard-pack gravel on the trail.
Just off the parking areas is the Cedar Point Tideland Trail. Composed of two loops, one is 0.6 miles and the other 1.3 miles. The Tideland Trail (1.3 miles) is designated a National Recreation Trail and contains the signs with the answers to the questions. With a series of boardwalks and raised walkways dotted by plackets illustrating the special features of this boundary between ocean and land, the trail provides an excellent opportunity to the see comings and goings of nature.
The Cedar Point campground that is near the trail is a wonderful way to start the day. Sites are scattered on a lopsided circle in a neatly kept grassy area dotted with Loblolly pines. Surrounded on two sides by tidal marsh and the other two by pine woods, the campground is a sanctuary for wildlife such as deer and raccoon, along with a wide variety of bird life.
The dramatic daily changes of tideland or bottomland ecosystem can be found at Cedar Point campground near Bogue Sound. A salt marsh is a low coastal grassland that is covered at least once a month by the rising tide. Salt marshes are found on the edges of estuaries; places where a river flows into the ocean. In the marsh, the water flows very slowly so sediments are dropped from the water and build up a muddy environment where plants can grow and small animals can live.
The Cedar Point Tidal Trail is part of the Croatan National Forest. The Croatan is a special place, featuring unique ecosystems, many water-based recreation opportunities, and convenient camping locations. Canoeing or fishing, hiking or swimming, relaxing by a campfire or viewing wildlife, the Croatan National Forest has many things to bring the first time visitor back again and again.
Another delight the Croatan can offer its visitors is an ideal environment for some very unusual plants. Venus' flytraps, sundews, and pitcher-plants are scattered throughout the Forest. With luck, visitors sometimes get to see one of these carnivorous plants catching a meal.
LOGGING REQUIREMENTS: In order to log this Earthcache, I ask that you answer four questions based on some of the signs you'll read while following the Cedar Point Tideland Trail. Photos are not required, but please post them if you have them!
Questions are based on walking the trail counter-clockwise or taking the long trail to the right.
Here's your quiz:
1. Why is the Salt Marsh one of the most productive places on earth? .
2. What ocean does the river flow into 5 miles down from the marsh?
3. Name the places where unusually high tides leave sea water trapped.
4. Caused by the earth’s movement, what has formed these salt marshes?
Logs that are not accompanied, within a reasonable amount of time, by an email to satisfy these requirements will be deleted, because that's the Earthcaching rule. Please don't make me have to delete anything!
Congratulations to Bluespade00 for FTF!! Thanks for finding our first earthcache!
References:
Cedar Point Tideland Trail (visit link)
U.S. National Forest Campground Guide. Croatan National Forest, North Carolina (visit link)
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce Salt Marshes Habitats (visit link)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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1. “Svfuvat sebz gur Znefu” fvta
2. “Zrrgvat gur Onl” fvta
3. “Znefu Fnynq” fvta
4. “Gur Fgne bs gur Fnyg Znefu”
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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