Westminster Woods Wetlands EarthCache
Hidden : 8/1/2013
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

These wetlands are part of a provincially significant wetland called the
"Arkell Victoria Clair Kettle Wetlands"

‘Glacial Kettles’ are depressions in a glaciated landscape resulting when huge left-over half-buried chunks of ice melted. In an outwash plain, the huge chunks of ice (known as ‘dead ice’) would be buried (or partly buried) by sand and gravel; when the ice chunk melted the sand and gravel around it would slump into the resulting depression, leaving just a hole in the ground.

If these kettle depressions extend below the water table, they become kettle lakes or ponds, of which there are many in southern Ontario. One example is what you see before you. These Guelph Kettles have held water in the past, and may still do so in the future particularly during high spring water levels, but for much of the year they are dry.

The depth of most kettles is less than ten meters. In most cases, kettle holes eventually fill with water, sediment, or vegetation. If the kettle is fed by surface or underground rivers or streams, it becomes a kettle lake. If the kettle receives its water from precipitation, the groundwater table, or a combination of the two, it is termed a kettle pond or kettle wetland, if vegetated. Kettle ponds that are not affected by the groundwater table will usually become dry during the warm summer months, in which case they are deemed ephemeral. An ephemeral waterbody is a wetland, spring, stream, river, pond or lake that only exists for a short period following precipitation or snowmelt. They are not the same as intermittent or seasonal waterbodies, which exist for longer periods, but not all year round.

A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. Primarily, the factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation that is adapted to its unique soil conditions - primarily of hydric soil, which supports aquatic plants. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life.

To claim this earthcache please email the answers to the following questions to the CO.
  1. According to the plaque what is the total area of these wetlands?
  2. Accroding to the plaque how long ago were these wetlands created?
  3. According to the paque why is dumping of garden waste or other foreign materials prohibited?

Please do not post spoiler photos or the answers on-line.


Congratulations to Spirit-of-Floymo for the FTF

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ernq gur cyndhr ng TM

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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