Parking lot trail head can be found 34 36.122 084 41.692 .
Marshes are defined as wetlands frequently or continually inundated with water, characterized by emergent soft-stemmed vegetation adapted to saturated soil conditions. There are many different kinds of marshes, ranging from the prairie potholes to the Everglades, coastal to inland, freshwater to saltwater. All types receive most of their water from surface water, and many marshes are also fed by groundwater. Nutrients are plentiful and the pH is usually neutral leading to an abundance of plant and animal life.
This earth cache will bring you to a beautiful marsh.on the Hidden Pond Trail From the south parking lot pace towards the marked trail head . Just beyond this marker the trail splits into two paths. Take the right trail across the bridge as the tread way ascends to a moderately steep hill. From here the path returns to the original trail to the right.
Along this path you will see several bird species including an osprey, wild turkey, eagles, and a hawk. Other wildlife such as raccoon, turtles, opossum, and white-tailed deer can be spotted here. Two viewing platforms were built on the beaver pond, that has lots of frogs, and you will cross a longer bridge (at the posted page coordinates). that takes you to a closer view of the marsh, and a beaver pond. A second pond and active beaver lodge are located further down the trail.
History around this marsh
Hidden Pond Tail is one of the short hikes that was established by the Corps of Engineers. It takes less than a mile to trek this short trail with little elevation. The site is situated in the Reregulation Dam Recreation Area right on the west section of Carters Lake. Carters Lake is also a known recreation spot for individuals who want to take a break from some frequented areas on this trail. Along the way you will pass Georgia Road's remnant that was built back in 1804 during the Treaty of Telico. After Andre Jackson and his battalion did some work on this road in 1819, this had then been called the old Federal Highway.
The Cherokee and farmers in the past have also used some trees along this trail as path markers. On the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee left this area and by 1977 a dam was created which then created a reregulation form near the Coosawattee River and Carters Lake. The trail moves along hugging the dam for at the reregulation pool.
Formation of Marshes like this one.
This marsh was formed at the edges of a small steam, due to being in a low flat, poorly drained section land You will see water levels from the trail that rang from a few inches to a few feet The marsh and others like it act as a transition between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of an area. Marshes differ from other types of wetlands, such as bogs or swamps, in that they are dominated by grasses such as as rushes and reeds, and have few to no woody areas. Bogs have mostly acidic peat, and swamps have mostly trees.
Values of marshes.
Marshes recharge groundwater supplies and moderate streamflow by providing water to streams. This is an especially important function during periods of drought. The presence of marshes in a watershed helps to reduce damage caused by floods by slowing and storing flood water. As water moves slowly through a marsh, sediment and other pollutants settle to the substrate or floor of the marsh. Marsh vegetation and microorganisms also use excess nutrients for growth that can otherwise pollute surface water such as nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer.
Due to their high levels of nutrients, freshwater marshes are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. They can sustain a vast array of plant communities that in turn support a wide variety of wildlife within this vital wetland ecosystem. As a result, marshes sustain a diversity of life that is disproportionate with their size. In addition to their considerable habitat value, non-tidal marshes serve to mitigate flood damage and filter excess nutrients from surface runoff.
A marshe like this one also improve water quality by acting as a sink to filter pollutants and sediment from the water that flows through them. Also marshes (and other wetlands as well) are able to absorb water during periods of heavy rainfall and slowly release it into waterways and therefore reduce the magnitude of flooding.
There are 2 main types of marshes:
Tidal Marshes: found near protected coastlines where they are close enough to be affected by the motion of the tide and
Non Tidal Marshes: which are the most common form of wetland in North America.
The marsh you see before you is a Non Tidal Freshwater Marsh. It is home to many plants and animals. Low-growing plants like grasses and sedges such as cattails, sawgrass, water lilies, and bullrush; and animals such as fish, frogs, turtles, beavers, birds, insects, raccoons, muskrats, snails, and earthworms all inhabit this habitat. Here they have built multiple viewing blinds to enhance the experience of watching the birds and wild life that call the marsh home. Its normally a standard fare of ducks and geese, be careful (and patient people have reported a wide array of birds including eagles, that are sustained by abundant sources of food.
Many individuals get confused between a marsh and a swamp. A marsh is a wetland with many 'emergent' plants - their tops emerge, or stick up, out of soggy ground and shallow water, while acquatic plants are completely submerged. The non-woody plants would be cattails, grasses, bulrushes, or sedges. A swamp is a place where the plants that make up the area covered in water are primarily woody plants or trees.
Be careful (and patient people have reported a wide array of birds including eagles.
If you skipped all the way down here just to see what you have to do to log it, shame on you. There is a lot of good information about marshes, but to log it, you can get a picture of your self, group or something on, or near the footbridge at the posted coordinates, but that is optional. Then, email me the answers to these questions.
1.Do you think this marsh is different than a swamp? If so how is it different?
2. When you standing on the footbridge at the posted coordinates .Take a good look at the soil in and around the marsh. And tell us what type of soil it is. If you are not sure, you may go to the waters edge a take a hand full of the soil and squeeze the water out of it. If it falls a part in your hand, it is sand, if not it is mud.
3. Do you think this marsh has any value? Explain
I will email you if you if you have the wrong answer. Thank you for finding my Earthcache.
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Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Marshes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Portals/46/docs/recreation/carters/docs/Hiking%20Trails.pdf
http://www.georgiatrails.com/gt/Hidden_Pond_Songbird_Trail
https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/wetlands-classification-and-types#marshes
