Geotour: A View of Lake Erie from the Dunes Traditional Cache
Lake County Visitors Bureau: Archived
Geotour: A View of Lake Erie from the Dunes
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Headlands Dunes are a site to behold. Perfect all year round, although best in the summer, this area of Ohio's longest beach is protected for natural growth and habitation. This cache is available only during park hours.
The trademark of Headlands Beach State Park is its mile-long natural sand beach, the largest in the state. In addition to its popularity during the summer season with picnickers and swimmers, the area is home to many plant species typically found only along the Atlantic Coast.
Extensive development along the shores of Lake Erie has all but eliminated the presence of sandy beaches and dunes. Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve, located adjacent to Headlands Dunes State Park, is one of the last of its kind in Ohio.
This community is much more than just an accumulation of sand along a shoreline. It is a living assemblage of fascinating and highly specialized plants and animals occurring in an environment too hostile for most other organisms to survive.
The most important dune developers along the Lake and Ashtabula County coast are switchgrass and/or beach grass (Hicks, 1934). Switchgrass or beach grass becomes established on the upper beach along with annuals, such as cocklebur and sea rocket. These lone grass plants quickly spread into huge root-like mats. Sand rapidly drifts into the relatively quiet vicinity of the switchgrass crown, and deposition occurs.
Switchgrass and beach grass have an adaptation shared by many dune plants, such as cottonwood, red osier, Canada wild-rye and sandbar willow. Despite an accumulation of sand around its crown, switchgrass or beach grass continues to grow upward through the sand.
PLEASE be courteous as you search for this cache. As this is a natural preserve, we want to make sure no trace of our visit can be detected.
(Placed with permission)
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