Tennessee is home to a wide variety of amphibians, organisms that typically spend a large portion of their adult life on land, and as larva are mainly aquatic. There are two orders found in North America: the anurans (frogs and toads) and the salamanders. Amphibians are ectotherms and have permeable skin so they can exchange gases with the environment. Due to their permeable skin they are sensitive to many pollutants ranging from air pollutants to run-off from farms.
There are over 45 species of salamanders in Tennessee and 21 species of anurans (numbers sometimes vary as some species are split into two due to new information gained from genetic analysis). In 1995 the Tennessee state legislature designated the Tennessee Cave Salamander (Gyrinophilus palleucus) as the official state amphibian. This species is considered threatened in the state because they have a very restricted range: they can be found in limestone cave systems in central and eastern Tennessee.
This geocache is one in a series of 15 that I have placed along the Cub Lake Trail in Natchez Trace State Park located in Wildersville, Tennessee. Natchez Trace State Park is a 10,154 acre state park located within a 48,000 acre state forest and wildlife management area. Cub Lake is approximately 52 acres in size and the trail around it is approximately 5.8 miles long and considered moderate difficulty. There are approximately 13.5 miles of hiking trails in the park and an overnight trail that is 40 miles long. Other activities at the park include swimming at Cub Lake, boating on various lakes, mountain biking, fishing, and horseback riding. There are also campgrounds and pavilions available for rental.
I would like to thank Walter Pope, park manager, for granting permission for these geocache hides. Please be respectful of the area and stay on the trails for as long as possible. Be sure to bring your boots if you do the whole trail, it can get muddy in sections.