PROPHETSTOWN FEN
Boardwalk along the Prophetstown Fen
Located on Trail # 1 within Prophetstown State Park, the Prophetstown Fen Nature Preserve highlights one of the largest and highest quality fens found in central Indiana. A hiking trail leads to a boardwalk and viewing platform that will permit a visitor to get an up-close and personal look at the fen without harming sensitive plants and wildlife. Stay on the trail!
In Tippecanoe County, we are fortunate to have several examples of wetlands. Our first earthcache -
Celery Bog - showcases an acidic wetland. This earthcache will take you to a wetland on the opposite end of the pH scale.
Seeps are places where the water table is “perched” near the surface and water seeps out of the ground in places where the topography slopes. Generally these are areas that are wider and much more slow moving-almost sheet-like--than a typical stream emerging from a spring, as you might expect to see in the limestone country of southern Indiana.
Open wetlands with mineral-rich soils called fens are the result of these seeps. They are often associated with peat or heavy “muck” soils, which slow the water from seeping downward into deeper layers of the earth. This means that they are constantly saturated with water but not flooded (like marshes or swamps) and, because they are spring-fed, they are always flowing at least beneath the surface of the peat or muck substrate.
To claim a find on this earthcache, please e-mail us with the answers to the following questions.
1. What two minerals contribute to the alkalinity of the Prophetstown Fen?
2. What two methods are used to maintain appropriate plant life at the Prophetstown Fen?
(Information from Indiana Dept of Natural Resources and Lafayette-West Lafayette Convention & Visitors Bureau; pictures by Car54)