Glacial Retreat EarthCache
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This cache will take you on a short hike in the woods laying out the glacial history of the area. The terrain is ADA accessible and wheelchair friendly, this cache is fun and family friendly. The goal is to give the public another way to experience the outdoors and learn about Rhode Islands fascinating glacial history.
Approximately 20,000 years ago the last ice age ended with the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. During the peak of the ice age over 5,000,000 square miles of North America where covered by the glacier. The geography of New England is a direct outcome of glacial retreat. The ice sheet left behind several new land features such as Block Island, Long Island, Cape Cod and various coastal ponds and estuaries. These glacial deposits are referred to as Moraines; there are several types of moraines. But the one you will be hunting for is a Terminal Moraine. These moraines are formed at the edge of a receding glacier. Because the eastern edge of the glacier was exposed to the sun, it was slowly but consistently melting leaving behind small and large rock fragments and creating long narrow hills of glacial deposit. Perpendicular to End Moraines are Ground Moraines or sometimes referred to as lateral moraines, these glacial deposits ripple southern Rhode Island’s landscape and allow geologists to estimate the time it took for the glacier to retreat. During the receding period occasionally massive portions of the glacier ranging from the size of a small car to a two-story house would fall of and form depressions known as Kettles. The crater like pits are a result of the weight of the large ice chunk and the mud created as it melted in place. And sometimes these Kettles become Kettle Ponds when natural springs fill up the holes creating ponds with very deep holes. On Block Island there are over 100 of these kettle ponds.
To claim this cache you must complete the following tasks and submit your answers to Neil_Anthes@fws.gov
1) Take a picture of two kettle holes. (Optional)
2) What two directions did the glacier retreat? And what land feature indicates these directions.
3) What is the name of Rhode Islands Terminal Moraine?
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Urycshy Snpgf:
Gur bprna orgjrra pbnfgny Eubqr Vfynaq naq Oybpx Vfynaq jnf nyy sberfgrq ynaq orsber gur ynfg vpr ntr.
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