I M P O R T A N T
If you plan to complete the series in one outing,
start with the Traditional cache (GC5DAPR)
then continue North to the other caches.
EarthCache Description
The Niagara Escarpment is one of the world's unique natural wonders. An escarpment is a steep rock face of great length formed by an abrupt termination of strata (that is, layers of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers).
The Niagara Escarpment is a ridge of rock up to 335 meters high, stretching 725 km from Queenston on the Niagara River to Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, with an average width of about 2.5 km. It is the mid-section of the 1,609 km escarpment consisting of the shore of an ancient sea centered in Michigan, which extended west from Rochester, NY, across Ontario to Michigan, then down the west side of Lake Michigan into Wisconsin. It has origins dating back into geological history some 430 to 450 million years, a time when the area lay under a shallow warm sea. This sea lay in a depression of the earth's crust, the center of which is now the State of Michigan. Now geologically known as the Michigan Basin, the outer rim of this massive saucer-shaped feature governs the location of the Niagara Escarpment. In the shape of a gigantic horseshoe the Escarpment can be traced from near Rochester, New York, south of Lake Ontario to Hamilton, north to Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula, beneath the waters of Lake Huron to appear again on Manitoulin Island, across northern Michigan and down the west side of Lake Michigan into the State of Wisconsin.
Rivers flowing into this ancient sea carried sand, silt, and clay and deposited it as thick layers of sediment. Concurrently, lime-rich organic material from the abundant sea life was also accumulating. Over millions of years these materials became compressed into massive layers of sedimentary rocks and ancient reef structures now visible along the Escarpment. Some rock layers now consist of soft shales and sandstones while others are made up of dolostone (a rock similar to limestone but which contains magnesium making it more durable).
Water erosion and glaciation molded the escarpment’s striking features. Water continues to shape the landscape through the rivers which flow through it and from its many waterfalls. The Niagara Escarpment fostered Niagara Falls and the preponderance of waterfalls has led Hamilton, with over 100, to declare itself the “Waterfall Capital of the World”. However, to claim this distinction, the city includes both Cascades & Waterfalls, a cascade being “a series of small falls, consisting of water descending over rocks or boulders” rather than the free-falling water of a waterfall.
EarthCache Lesson
At the posted coordinates, stretch your legs and explore the top of the escarpment. Note the steep descent of the road and its severe turn, or “switchback”, descending the face of the cliff.
Continue to the trailhead. Parking is available for one vehicle on the West side of the road.
Walk to waypoint Q1. At this waypoint (a footbridge), what contributes to the continuing erosion of the escarpment? Specifically, is it a waterfall or a cascade? Is it man-made or natural? Explain your answer.
You can log your visit without prior authorization. However, for the log to remain, you must e-mail your answer to the Cache Owner. Do not post the answer in your log.