Geocache Identification Permit Approval Number: AMSP20191028169
Permit Expires on:10/28/22
PUZZLE: N 40 53 (A=?) W 074 47 (B=?)
This is an easy field puzzle, the first stage will bring you to a sign at the side of the Parking area. Titled: "Morris Canal Greenway", whereas you will need to obtain the information to find the nearby final cache. The Final is nearby, please be respectful of the historic area.
PUZZLE: N 40 53 (A=?) The Morris Canal overcame (X) feet of elevation change, more then any other transportation canal in the world! How many feet is the elevation change? 1,277 = 312, 1,457 = 278, 1,674 = 249
PUZZLE W 074 47 (B=?) To overcome these elevation changes, the canal used a system of (X) lift locks and 23 inclined planes. How many lift locks were in the canal system? 12 = 870, 17 = 900, 23, = 997
The Morris Canal used lift locks to overcome small changes in elevation, up to 20 feet, and inclined planes for larger changes, up to 100 feet. Some locks were "guard locks" that guarded against changes in the level of rivers or lakes that might flood or drain the canal.
Lock 5 West, here at Saxton Falls, was a guard lock because it connected the canal to the river and had no normal lift. At Saxton Falls the Morris Canal joined a river, and Lock 5 West was used to allow the Morris Canal to break away from the river and go off in its own southwesterly direction.
All locks and planes had bypass channels to provide water to the next lock or plane down the canal. Each lock site had a lock tender's house and other buildings. At Saxton Falls the towpath changed from one side of the canal to the other. A "change bridge" was needed for the mules to cross over the canal.
Saxton Falls - Lock 5 West near Hackettstown
A view of Lock 5 West. Note the curved walls of the lock entrance that you can still see today. The "change bridge" spanned the lock and changed the towpath from one side of the canal to the other. The canal store is behind the bridge.
What's left of the Lock in 2016