This cache is located within Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park. A day use fee, camping reservation or annual pass is required to enter the park. At the posted coordinates you will be standing next to a bridge that crosses over a small stream. There is a sign nearby which may help with the logging requirements.
This type of stream is called a steephead and it was dammed in the 1950s to create Puddin' Head Lake. In 2010 the process of removing the dam and draining the lake was started. This is a joint project between the Florida Park Service and multiple other agencies and groups. According to the Northwest Florida Environmental Conservancy, "Steepheads are one of the most awesome, unique, diverse and sensitive ecosystems in the entire Southeast!" The Nature Conservancy explains how steepheads are maintained: "Clear, cool streams seep up through deep sandy soils, forming steep-walled, amphitheater-shaped headwaters that provide a unique microclimate for rare plants and animals" such as carnivorous pitcher plants, salamanders, frogs, and the Florida star anise.
There is a picture at the posted coordinates showing the appearance of a steephead stream that has not been disturbed by damming. As you can see in the picture they are usually narrow (no more than 40 feet wide) and heavily shaded with an overstory of trees which results in minimal aquatic vegetation growth (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-FFWC). The deep valley and heavy shade provide a cooler area for plants and animals in the heat of the summer.
As a steephead ages it causes the ravine to grow deeper and longer. The FFWC explains the process as follows: "Steephead Streams are usually accompanied by seepage slopes. These slopes have acidic, low-nutrient soils which are constantly saturated with moisture flowing from upslope. Steephead streams are formed when drainage water begins to collect underground from a slope and flow outward to the surface. The resulting flow brings about an erosion of the slopes' base, which forms a cut out in the underside of the hill."
To log this cache e-mail the answers to the following questions (please do not post answers online):
1. Describe the appearance of the stream and ravine at the time of your visit.
2. Based on what you have learned about how a steephead normally ages, how would Puddin' Head Ravine be different today if it had not been dammed for over 50 years?
3. (optional) Include a picture of yourself with Puddin' Head Ravine in your online log
For a great local example of a small seepage/steephead stream that hasn't been altered by a long term dam, get a range pass and check out "You're Glowing!"-(GC3CN2X). We found this one months ago and thought it was so pretty with such clear water and a sandy bottom. I didn't even realize what it was until we started doing the research for this EarthCache. I'm pretty sure that Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park is another example of this feature, not to mention many others all over the Eglin Reservation.
Bibliography:
http://myfwc.com/media/1626425/Seepage.pdf
http://www.nwflec.com/northwestfloridaenvironmentalconservancypart2/id12.html
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/florida/explore/restoring-kelley-branch-and-puddin-head.xml
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