Presqu'ile Sandbar/Marsh - Earth Cache EarthCache
Hidden : 6/21/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Presqu'ile Provincial Park
Marsh Earthcache



Presqu'ile Provincial Park provides all visitors with a wonderful landscape to enjoy and also the chance to learn so much too.

This Earthcache will educate you about the Marsh and the Beach Ridge and the forest on it now plus why and how it is today and how through many 1,000's of years it has changed.

It will also challenge you to answer questions relating to what you learn as you do the Marsh Boardwalk Trail.

The Trail is a 1.2km loop, across 800 metres of Boardwalk and then back along an old sandbox covered by thick Cedar trees.

There are 2 viewing towers and 3 teaching zones as well as the 17 information boards that give a tremendous insight into the many aspects of the Marsh.

The boardwalk is wheelchair accessible.

The boardwalk was totally rebuilt by the Friends of Presqu'ile, volunteers and with the help of Park staff and was formally opened on 14th June 2009.

The coordinates at the top of the page will take you to the first notice board.

There are charges for entering the Park by car but there is an area outside the park where you can park for free and there is no charge for then entering the park on foot- See parking Co-ordinates 2.

There is plenty of parking nearby at the given parking coordinates.


Once at the above co-ordinates allow approx 45 minutes, although I spent far longer as it is such an interesting and beautiful place with lots of information to read.

The Birth of the Marsh

Glaciers covered this area for millions of years and have been dated back as the Ordovician period (about 450 million years ago) and it is hard to believe when you stand looking at the Marsh today that that was the case and that 10,000 to 12,000 years ago this area was beneath 100 metres of water. Waters that were here because of the Glaciers melting and creating Lake Iroquois. When this drained over 1,000's of year it left us with the Lake Ontario we know today.

About 5,000 years ago the lake was much as it is today - there were 5 rocky islands to the offshore, consisting largely of limestone - the bed of the lake consisted of sand, gravel and limey sediment which over millions of years had then been squuezed and many of the sea creatures shells had been turned into fossils in this rock.

Over 1,000's of years water currents and waves from the west and south-west carried sand and gravel that had been left behind by the glaciers when they melted and this sediment got dropped and gradually built up. It dropped because the currents gradually lost energy and when this happened sandbars started to form.

Having sheltered areas behind these sandbars, plantlife started forming and the Marshes came into being. As the sandbars grew so did the marshland and about 500 years ago two of the islands became attached to the mainland because the sandbars had grown and grown.
When the mainland and an island join in this way this formation is called a tombolo. The Marsh had grown and continues to grow and Presqu'ile is the largest Marsh in Ontario to have grown because of this glacial residue being dropped and creating the sandbars here.

This type of Marshland is called a Lakeshore Marsh and it is becoming an increasingly rare type of wetland.
The Marsh is full of life - frogs, snakes, mammals, plants and invertebrates all live here, interlocking their lives and many have adapted so well to this waterlogged world they cannot survive anywhere else.

The marsh contributes to the biodiversity of Presqu'ile Provincial Park but also to the planet.

The Beach Ridge & Forest


Having now left the Boardwalk behind, you will now be standing at the base of the Beach Ridge - this was formed 1,000's of years ago and at that time it was an open sand bar in amidst the water. Although you now cannot see much of the sand it consists of sand particles from eroded limestone left behind when the glaciers melted.
The sand was stabilized over 1,000's of years by dune plants growing, such as wormwood and grasses and following on from this trees such as cottonwoods who's seeds were blown here.

After decades and more likely centuries the Eastern White Cedar tree took hold and shaded the forest floor preventing some of the other trees and bushes from growing and in fact this forest now consists of mainly White Cedar and the few remaining Cottonwoods are dying off or dead already.

When you reach information board 12 you will be able to read all about this area - it is between two beach ridges (sand dunes) and is called a Panne, this one is very old and globally they are rare habitats. Also they are extreme habitats too - freezing in winter, flooding in spring, dry in summer - plants that live here have specially adapted to live here.

Within the rest of Presqu'ile there are several other Pannes on the other side of the main road behind the main beach and in the fall there are some fabulous flower displays.

Moving on along the trail back towards the parking area you will come across what are known as the Horse Trees - these are a group of White Cedar that over one hundred years ago, when young something happened to them - possibly a sharp frost - and the main stem died off - it took some time for the side shoot to then start growing skyward and this created the unique feature of a 'saddle'. A very interesting phenomenon and worth seeing.

You are permitted to sit on the 'saddle' and have your picture taken, but do not damage the bark or pick at it as the trees need this for protection.




Questions to answer to be able to log this Earthcache:

1. Board 5a - From this board, how many metres shallower is the bay now than in 1815 and what is the reason behind this?

2. Board 8 - Take a good look straight down at the water here, don't be fooled by the surface water - look at the plants below the surface and observe the movement of them and the water through them. Tell me the time you saw the movement and whether it was going in or out at that time. From the board what is the normal approx length of time of the lakes natural seich rythm.

3. Board 10 is currently missing and will be reinstated in the spring - In the meantime go to board 11 - from reading this board please describe what helped to stabilize the sand here?(Board 10 - From the information on this board, tell me what change is noticeable every year and why is this change occurring?)

4. Using your GPSr, and before you leave the boardwalk to go into Beach Ridge Forest - read and let me know how high above sea level you are.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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