This is an Earthcache; there is no physical container to find. Visit the three waypoints and submit the required answers to me via my Profile (Message Center or Email) BEFORE you log a Find. Do NOT post the answers in your log (including spoiler photos).
The posted coordinates will take you to the Hobe Sound Nature Center and the trailhead kiosk there. You will need to visit several waypoints on the Sand Pine and Hammock Trails south and east of the nature center.
Hobe Sound Nature Center is open 9AM-3PM Mon-Sat, but the trails are open sunrise-sunset. Dogs permitted on trails if they remain leashed. All required information can be gathered from reading the cache page and visiting the waypoints. Visiting the nature center is not required to complete this Earthcache, but would help you learn more about the area and includes the opportunity to see and touch live native animals.
The roundtrip walk on the trail covers less than 1 mile, but the entire trail is sand or dirt with some changes in elevation.
Location
Hobe Sound NWR is a 1000+ acre wildlife refuge preserving the portion of Jupiter Island on the east side of Peck's Lake, and the habitat along the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway between Tequesta and Hobe Sound. This portion if the Intracoastal Water is a wide natural body of water called Hobe Sound - namesake of the town. Hobe Sound is named after the Jobe (hoe-bay) Indians, a Pre-Columbian Indian tribe from the area. The trails here take you through three habitats within a small area: sand pine scrub, flatwoods, and coastal strand. Sand pine scrub is rare and a relic from tens of thousands of years ago when the ocean levels were higher. Ancient sand dunes were left behind and these dry, sandy hills developed a habitat unique to certain parts of central and south Florida that includes many plants and animals found nowhere else. Trees of this are are mostly sand pines and scrub oaks.
Atlantic Coastal Ridge
The hills and ridges in this portion of Hobe Sound NWR (and in nearby Jonathan Dickinson State Park) are part a formation known as the Atlantic Coastal Ridge. This ridge extends from Georgia to Miami along Florida's east coast, but is not continuous and does not consist solely of sand pine scrub. The Atlantic Coast Ridge is made of Anastasia Formation limestone overlaid with sand. It is an ancient beach dune system as high as 92 ft above sea level and averaging 5 miles in width. The ACR formed during a period of higher ocean levels in Florida's ancient past; at the time Jupiter Island was only a sandbar. Wind and waves shaped the dune system into ridges or occasionally bluffs making them among them among the highest elevation in southern Florida.
There are 12 types of soil classified in the US Soil Taxonomy. The Atlantic Coastal Ridge consists primarily of spodosol: ashy gray (turning white after extended exposure to the sun), acidic soils with a strongly leached surface layer. While modern Florida beach sand is mostly limestone and coral-based of local origin, sand in the Atlantic Coast Ridge is mostly quartz-based sand moved by ocean currents from what is now the Georgia and South Carolina piedmont.
Sand Pine Scrub
Sand pine scrub is a unique environment found only on parts of the Atlantic Coast Ridge and other ancient dune highland areas of central and southern Florida. Many plants and animals found here are found nowhere else. Only certain plants can survive the soil conditions here (and the wind exposure). Trees of this habitat are mostly tough sand pines, scrub oaks, and palmettos with little in the way of grass.
Coastal Strand
Coastal strand is not naturally as rare as sand pine scrub, but has declined substantially in the last century due to the development of waterfront property. This environment is found not only on barrier islands, but along coastal lagoons like the Indian River and Hobe Sound. Leafier trees like sea grapes can be be found in these areas; the trees often grow tall enough and close enough together to form a canopy (unlike the mostly short growth of Scrub and the widely spaced trees in Flatwoods). Soil here is usually more sandy, but darker and not as dry as scrub. Coastal Strand has lower elevation than sand pine scrub; being closer to the limestone substrate slows drainage. Proximity to the ocean can limit what plants can survive here, but the proximity to water means a wider range of plants can grow in this environment and they do not need to be as drought-tolerant as those found in sand pine scrub. The farther Coastal Strand is from the ocean, the less of impact the salt and wind has.
Flatwoods
Flatwoods are neither as rare nor is the soil as dry or nutrient poor as sand pine scrub or coastal strand. Trees here are mostly widely-spaced longleaf or slash pines which grow taller than trees in sand pine scrub or coastal strand. Ground cover can include grass (especially wiregrass and cordgrass), but palmetto is most common in areas that are not prone to standing water. Transition areas between flatwoods and scrub are known as xeric flatwoods.
Measuring Elevation
Most GPS receivers are capable of measuring elevation using satellite triangulation. Some units come with a built-in barometer. Most altimeter devices will require several minutes to "settle" and may require averaging. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how your GPS device measures elevation; you may find a consistent error (ex: all elevations read 15 ft higher than they actually are).
While smartphones can calculate elevation by triangulate from satellites, this method is usually not very accurate. A more effective method is to use an app that compares your GPS to a topographic map. Examples are eGPS Elevation (Droid) and My Altitude (iPhone). Some of these apps use a topographic map detailed enough to give elevation to 1 or 2 decimal places, but for purposes of this Earthcache you can round off to the nearest whole number.
For reference, the waterline at the lagoon beach will be near sea level (0 ft) while the highest elevation in this area is Hobe Mountain at 86 ft tall. Therefore your elevation readings should be between those amounts.
Required Tasks
To get credit for this Earthcache, you will need to answer some questions. Please send me the answers to the following questions to complete this Earthcache. Do not post answers in your log. Failure to send answers to these questions is grounds for deletion of your log.
There is no need to leave the trail for this Earthcache. The Sand Pine Scrub Trail will lead you from Waypoint 1 to Waypoint 2 then follow the trail along the lagoon beach to Waypoint 3.
Waypoint 1 - N 27 02.160 W 80 06.700
1A) What is the elevation at this waypoint?
1B) Describe the soil here: color? Dry or moist?
1C) Which of the three environments is found at this waypoint: sand pine scrub, flatwoods, or coastal strand?
1D) What term refers to environments/habitats with very little moisture? Hint: one word answer on the sign.
Waypoint 2 - N 27 02.170 W 80 06.640
2A) What is the elevation at this waypoint?
2B) How does the soil from here eastward toward the lagoon compare to the soil at the first waypoint: lighter or darker in color? More or less moist?
2C) Which of the three environments is found at this waypoint: sand pine scrub, flatwoods, or coastal strand?
Hint: consider both the soil, the plant life, and the trail name.
Waypoint 3 - N 27 02.240 W 80 06.670
3) How does seagrass help the river, besides providing food and shelter for animals?
Hint: read the sign - grass on land serves a similar function
Photos from your visit are welcome so long as they do not spoil answers to any of the above questions.
Sources & Permission
Created with the assistance of the Hobe Sound Nature Center staff, Hobe Sound NWR signage and brochures, and Encyclopedia Britannica. Physical caches are not currently permitted in Hobe Sound NWR.