Shingle All the way! (A Pebble Paradise) 🌎 EarthCache

For purposes of logging this cache you must answer the following four questions:
1) Describe the largest rock embedded here by color and size?
2) Also do the rocks get smaller or larger closer to the cliff? Are the cobbles here all the same color or are they varied? What do these two answers imply according to the text? (Hint: Wave action and source.)
3) Estimate how tall is the cliff here and what is located directly above you?
4) At stage 2 describe what you found, the size and probably how it got here.
5) Please take a Mandatory photo of yourself or a personal item near GZ  and either send it to me when you message the answers or attach it to your found log.





This earthcache is located at Camano Island State Park and is placed with permission and a permit. This beach is a cornucopia of glacial geological goodness!


There is a $10 day-use fee or $30 annual pass charged to use all Washington State Parks.

An earthcache is the magical combination of geocaching and geological discovery. They vary greatly from traditional geocaches in that there is NO PHYSICAL CONTAINER! Once at the Earth Cache site, take in the scenery, the geological marvels or oddities, and read the cache description. You will likely be asked to answer some questions about the site and optionally take a picture. You can email the cache owner or use the Message Center to send answers to the required questions. Please don’t be intimidated about answering the questions. They are not graded and were meant to enrich your visit, open your eyes and provide you with new knowledge and insights about the location. Most importantly have fun!




Beaches usually mean sand, but not always. There are beaches made of sea shells, broken glasses pounded smooth by the surf, black sand made from lava and pebbles. While stray pebbles on the beach are common, a beach made entirely out of pebbles are few and far between. (At least outside of Washington!).

How do you know you've got a shingle beach?

Have a close look at the beach. Is it mostly sand? Not a shingle beach, then. Has it got lots and lots of rocks from small to medium cobbles, ( larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder.) Then congratulations! It's shingle! There's no better place for a geology buff than a shingle beach. If you've got a rock lover in the family, or if you yourself are enamored with everything from pebbles to batholiths, a shingle beach is your kind of place!

What are shingle beaches made of?

You can find all sorts of rocks on a shingle beach! Mostly, they'll be made up of rocks resistant to erosion. What, exactly, will depend on the rock and what the glaciers dragged in. Most shingle beaches are in higher latitudes that were covered by ice sheets and glaciers. You'll find them on coasts where the bluffs and cliffs are made up of glacial and fluvioglacial deposits like till and outwash. You'll also find them where rivers are delivering large payloads of rock to the coasts, or where the rocky cliffs are being converted to cobbles and pebbles by wave action.

Our beaches and bluffs are a legacy of the region’s glacial history. The Puget Lowland was shaped during the last ice age. The glaciers left a steep coastline, dominated by eroding bluffs and abundant coarse-grained sediment.

The irregular coastline leads to an extremely complex wave environment, which in turn influences sediment transport and the development of local shoreline features such as feeder bluffs and barrier beaches. (0.1 to 7.9 in) diameter. The glaciers left a rolling landscape several hundred feet above modern sea level, dissected by deep fjord-like troughs hundreds of feet deep. These deep troughs were inundated by the sea after the glaciers retreated, resulting in a steep coastline dominated by high bluffs and narrow beaches that often fall off steeply into deep water.

From the parking coordinates walk along the beach to the posted earthcache coordinates. (You maybe cursing the cobbles by now!) On your way make a note of the angle and height of the bluff on your left. Walk along the beach and note the sizes of the rocks: sometimes, you can tell the direction of the waves from the size of the cobbles or pebbles. Vigorous waves carry larger cobbles, and as their energy dissipates, smaller stones are dropped. Some beaches don't show much variation, as the waves hit them pretty straight on. Others will show a marked gradation, going from teeny tiny pebbles up to large cobbles. At the posted coords you will discover the source of the cobbles. These have tumbled down from the bluff up above. Describe the largest rock embedded here by color and size? Also do the rocks get smaller or larger closer to the cliff and are the cobbles located here all the same color or different? What do your answers imply according to the text? (hint: wave action and source) Estimate how tall is the cliff here and what is located directly above you? Now walk to stage 2. Describe what you found, the size and probably how it got here.