Don't Bypass Lake Overholser EarthCache
Don't Bypass Lake Overholser
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Most residents and observers, and recreationalists of all kinds, don’t give it a second thought as they enjoy the varied and wildlife-filled venue that Lake Overholser provides Oklahoma City and its surrounding residents. But there are some unique features present at Lake Overholser that have contributed over its near 100 year history to forming and developing the wildlife rich, and diverse environment that now rests all around its shores.
Lake Overholser was originally designed and built over and around a rather contorted section of the North Canadian River. However with the dam constructed on the South end of the lake, one particularly unique feature was designed and engineered as well along the Eastern side of the lake. This feature has contributed to unique developments regarding sedimentation patterns, thereby impacting the continuously developing Bathymetry of the Lake, and subsequently the wildlife habitats that are present. This feature is what truly makes this particular area worthy of an Earthcache.
Lake Overholser was built with what is called a bypass canal running along the East side of the lake. The canal itself basically serves as a straightened out version of the North Canadian River flowing directly North to South, through an open section of the South dam, essentially bypassing the lake altogether. The lake and canal were constructed with an overflow area to the Northeast, where during high water conditions, water can directly flow out of the river into the lake. The overflow area has served to create a large mud flat area in the Northeast section of the lake, which has contributed to Lake Overholser being considered one of the top bird-watching locations in the state.
Particularly crucial to this Earthcache, this bypass canal has also served to eliminate any high current impact on the lake and its bathymetry. Bathymetry is basically the study of the underwater depth and contour of lakes and oceans. Lake Overholser bathymetry indicates it ranges in depth from roughly 5 to 15 feet in different areas and at different times. With a normal lake, with standard river inflow, the bathymetry of the lake would start to shift with silting and sedimentation starting at the main entry point of the river current into the lake bed, and begin to carry across, reducing the volume of the lake over time.
Although Lake Overholser does see its share of sedimentation, for the most part, this is caused by waves and wind generated currents stirring-up and redistributing silt across the bottom surface of the lake. There is no constant influx of fresh river silt and sediment directly into the lake. The overall result is a trend toward a more symmetrical and uniform bathymetry over time. Essentially a flat-bottomed body of water is developing.
An additional benefit of the use of the bypass canal is that it has served to allow the upstream conditions to remain relatively unimpacted by the addition of the lake. The areas directly to the North of Lake Overholser, commonly known as a 1000+ acre preserve called Stinchcomb, remain relatively undisturbed, and in the same condition you’d have found the land nearly 200 years ago. This impact of preservation on the surrounding natural setting is another huge plus for nature lovers and recreationalists of all kinds, including Geocachers.
As a Geocacher, please review the requirements necessary to log this cache shown below. Please email the answer to the following question (please don’t post your answer in your log on the page, or I will have to delete that entry, no offense intended):
•Based on your personal observations, whatever small amount of knowledge of BATHYMETRY you might have absorbed in reading this cache, and the descriptions of the pre-lake condition of this area of land (hint), where would you expect to find the deepest depths in this lake? Your thoughts are all that is required for this question, your scientific analysis. We aren’t requiring a necessarily correct answer, although there are 1 or 2 that are considered correct.
•Of course, I love any picture of yourself and your fellow cachers or family enjoying any of the multiple recreation activities, and nature-filled adventures, around this lake, but definitely not necessary or required as part of logging the cache.
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Treasures
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