Please be sure to read the description details BELOW the logging requirements.
Logging Requirements: Send the answers to #1-#4 to me through my geocaching profile/Messenger. DO NOT post the answers to any logging requirements on this site.
1. List the name “GC2X75C Ft McHenry Earthcache” in the first line of your email. Also, list the number of people in your group.
2. Contrast the salt marsh in front of you with the open water to your left. List at least ONE geological difference.
3. How does the salt marsh protect the shoreline?
4. Based on the signage/description below, is Fort McHenry in danger of falling into the ocean because of the lack of salt marshes to buffer the Bay's power or have actions been taken to restore a salt marsh environment? Explain.
I will only respond if you have incomplete logging requirements. Go ahead and log your cache
Congrads to wizardofmd69 for FTF (First to Finish logging requirements)
Geology:
Tidal Marshes, like the one before you, play and important role in the Chesapeake Bay by helping to maintain and restore water quality. They remove and retain nutrients like nitrogen and phosophorus. Salt marshes can purify polluted waters. They absorb flooding waters and provide a buffer to shoreline erosion. Tidal salt marshes are some of the richest habitat in the Bay. They provide nursery grounds for fish and blue crabs, resting spots for migratory birds and feeding sites for ducks, great blue herons, red-winged blackbirds and ospreys.
At the interface of land and water, tidal salt marshes can show how our actions on the land affect the waters of the Chesapeake Bay – and ultimately the oceans. These important but fragile ecosystems are disappearing or becoming degraded due to development and other human activities. The salt marsh before you was restored in the early 1980's after the Patapsco River was dredged for construction of the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel.
History:
In 1814 tidal salt marshes surrounded much of Fort McHenry. Within the last50 years, millions of acres of wetlands, including salt marshes, on the Bay's shores have disappeared, an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. Restoration efforts like the one in front of you are bringing back this critical habitat.
Historically, the salt marshes surrounding the fort impacted the lives of the men and women in the garrison. Doctors believed that diseases affecting the health of the people living nearby lay within the marshes. Summers were known as the “sickly season.” In 1829 the Army added a second floor to the barracks to allow for air circulation through the buildings and to improve the health of the soldiers. Since the 1970's Marylanders have increased their efforts to protect and restore the state's wetlands.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created the Ft. McHenry Wetland after the completion of the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel in 1985. A team of state and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations maintain the wetland and monitor its health. Teaming with diversity this wetland is home to hundreds of plant and animal species.
Note: New signage was installed in 2016. Thanks to kamakurakid and airsax for getting me images of the new signs. Logging requirements have been adjusted as a result.