Riverside Park Earthcache EarthCache

Out for a walk in the park. Found some caches and spotted this little place and thought it would work great as an Earthcache. Take a walk through the trails and on the boardwalk to find a plaque. On this plaque you can gather some information and answer a couple easy questions in order to earn the smiley for this Earthcache. 

From the Region of Waterloo Website:

Riverside Park is Cambridge’s largest community park at 102 Hectares. There are a multitude of things to do: you can take a hike along one of the community trails, take in a ball/soccer game, or play on one of its many playground structures. Riverside Park has four picnic sites (two with covered shelters); a number of softball diamonds with lights; two baseball diamonds, one with lights, grandstand and snack bar, as well as a number of lighted soccer fields. There are tennis courts, washrooms and a children’s spray pad.

What is this area? Why is it significant? This area is a WETLAND - a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens; and sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, and varzea. Marshes are nutrient-rich wetlands that support a variety of reeds and grasses, while swamps are defined by their ability to support woody plants and trees. Bogs are characterized by their poor soil and high peat content, while fens have less peat and more plant life than a bog. Wetland hydrology is associated with the spatial and temporal dispersion, flow, and physio-chemical attributes of surface and ground water in its reservoirs. Based on hydrology, wetlands can be categorized as riverine (associated with streams), lacustrine (associated with lakes and reservoirs), and palustrine (isolated). Sources of hydrological flows into wetlands are predominantly precipitation, surface water, and groundwater. Water flows out of wetlands by evapotranspiration, surface runoff, and subsurface water outflow. Hydrodynamics (the movement of water through and from a wetland) affects hydro-periods (temporal fluctuations in water levels) by controlling the water balance and water storage within a wetland.