Welcome to the end of the road. You have been brought here to visit this Earthcache to learn a bit about the bluffs on the north shore of Lake Erie, wave action, erosion, littoral drift of sand in the area, why the bluffs are eroding inland and even why some beaches in the area are only a narrow strip of land and other beaches are quite large.
BE AWARE, THIS IS AN ACTIVE EROSION AREA AND THE BLUFFS MAY NOT BE STABLE AND COULD COLLAPSE AT ANY TIME. USE CAUTION DURING YOUR VISIT. THERE IS NO NEED TO APPROACH THE EDGE OF THE BLUFF.
Please enjoy your visit here. Be careful. Stay well back from the edge of the bluff. Keep children close at hand for their own safety. I would highly recommend you do not pass beyond the guard rail at the end of the roadway as the eroding of the bluffs is an ongoing evolution as it has been for as long as man and time has existed.
PLEASE NOTE: Subsequent to this earthcache being developed A FENCE IS NOW IN PLACE. FOR PERSONAL SAFETY DO NOT PROCEED PAST THE FENCE. All questions may be answered from behind the fence. To determine what is located to the west of this location which affects the erosion of the bluffs I highly suggest the use of Google Earth, to establish the answer to Question # 1.
The bluffs along the north shore of Lake Erie rise high above the water's surface. The bluffs have a clay base rising up the face of the bluffs changing to sand near the top of the bluffs. The bluffs are mostly glacial soils comprised of sand, gravel and clay. The soils of the bluffs are highly erodible when exposed to the forces of waves, groundwater flow, surface water run-off, ice, wind and rain or snow.
You may notice a two tone colour to the bluffs, a lighter colour in the upper layer and darker colour in the lower layer. The lighter colour is a mix of glacier deposited beach sand with minor layers of clay which was deposited in lakes as a result of the melting of glacial ice hundreds and thousands of feet thick which occurred 3000 to 4000 years ago.
Today water filtrates downward through this layer. The lower, darker (gray) area is a glacially deposited mix of clay and silt mixed with gravel size rock fragments where the water filtering downward from the sands above is stopped allowing the water to pond on top of the lower layer of clay and silt. In many areas bluffs will have a vegetable mat that normally covers the face of the bluff allowing it protection helping to prevent erosion but this is not, based on what I have observed on the north shore of Lake Erie the norm. Instead the face of the bluffs, the lower mainly clay sections are exposed . As a result, especially during high water levels, wave damage occurs at the base of the bluffs allowing the face of the lower bluff section to slide and separate thus allowing upper sections of the bluff face to also slide downward and into the lake.
Human activity such as footpaths, removal of trees, farm operations (plowing fields and irrigating fields) etc. may also expedite the erosion of bluffs as the stability of the bluff is weakened, partially by increased water permeating through the bluff and loss of root structure which holds the bluff in place. Due to disturbances in the bluff by man (and nature) the forces of erosion (water and wind) will further destabilize the bluff allowing substantial bluff material to collapse and fall into the lake.
Some of the bluff pieces can be observed on depth sounders on boats so equipped several feet offshore with water depths changing significantly from a few feet to 20 to 30 feet in very short distances.
This erosion, known as bluff recession, will cause the bluffs to recede as little as one to two feet annually up to fifty or more feet along the north shore of Lake Erie. Just a few miles east of here a road which used to run parallel to the lake is now closed due to the potential for the bluff to collapse at any time. Further east, to the east of Port Burwell, a major county road was closed several years ago on a permanent basis due to gully erosion in the bluffs in that area which has collapsed the bluff to within feet of the former road.
Other influences affecting the stability of the bluffs are the increase in steepness of the face of the bluff due to erosion at the toe (bottom of the bluff and shoreline at the water's edge). Seasonal snowmelt and prolonged rainfall can also have a detrimental effect due to pooling of groundwater which then seeps through the bluff causing it to weaken.
From this location, take a look to the west towards Port Stanley. You will see a major cause of Lake Erie beach development and bluff erosion which was created by man. On the west side of this man-made structure is a large beach. To the east side of this structure is a very small beach with Lake Erie situated almost immediately at the foot (toe) of the bluffs. This structure dams the littoral eastward flow of Lake Erie sand building a beach on its west side and starving the beaches to the east thus allowing for a greater rate of bluff erosion to take place at locations such as where you are standing now.
To claim a find on this Earthcache please answer the following questions:
1. What is the man-made structure to the west that prevents the littoral drift of the sand from flowing to the east from Port Stanley?
2. Using your G.P.S. what is the elevation of the top of the bluff where you are standing Above Sea Level?
3. Knowing that the surface level of Lake Erie is 571 feet what is the height of the bluff above the surface of Lake Erie? Remember you just determined the height of the bluff Above Sea Level so using the elevation of the height of the bluff Above Sea Level minus the surface elevation of Lake Erie you should be able to determine the answer.
4. From your visit to the Earthcache location what have you observed here that may have sped up the erosion of the bluffs in this area?
There is no need to go anywhere near the edge of the bluff. Do your calculations for the questions and viewing of Port Stanley from the guard rail.
A photo is not required but if you wish to take a photo and share it with us on the Earthcache page please feel free to share.