This is an Earthcache located at the North East corner of Brevard County. There is no physical container to find. To log the Earthcache; visit the site and, email your answers to the cache owner for the questions below. Please note that this cache is no longer part of the Four Corners of Brevard series which has run it's course after four years. The Earthcache now remains independent of the original series.
The area is under the management of the National Park Service who has granted permission for the Earthcache. Admission to Cape Canaveral Sea Shore is twenty dollars with an additional backcountry pass required for five dollars. Both can be obtained from either entrance. Though the purpose of this Earthcache is to educate people on the sea dune system, no dunes should be physically stood on. The system is extremely delicate and the nesting grounds to sea turtles. All aspects of the system can be viewed at ground zero without actually standing on the dunes.
The natural coast of Florida can be difficult to find in the twenty first century. Through the efforts of the National Park Service, the Cape Canaveral seashore offers nineteen miles of unspoiled geography. Midway between the last parking lots in Brevard and Volusia county is a premium example of pure natural sea dunes. This will be at least a ten and a half mile round trip walk (from the Volusia parking lot) so be sure to plan appropriately. There will be no relief or assistance offered and in many journeys no human contact for the entire walk. The hike took four and a half hours round trip when I accomplished it and the gates close and are locked at dusk.
Sea dunes are a natural protectant against hurricanes in Florida. Unfortunately as humans have spread to the coast many of the aspects of these natural features have been removed or replaced making the areas of urban sprawl more susceptible to tropical cyclones.
The initial sea dune is called a fore dune. This is characterized by a slope from the beach to the first smaller sand hill. Fore dunes typically have smaller grasses and shrubs that bind the dune and stabilize the sand hill. Smaller animals frequent the area but rarely live on it. Sea turtles lay nests within the fore dune.
Immediately after the beach and fore dune a decline in elevation occurs before a second larger sand dune which can be seen in the distance. This configuration is called a trough. It is designed for water run off that occurs when the fore dune is breached by a storm surge in a tropical system.
The second larger sand dune system is called a back dune. This is visibly different then the fore dune as larger trees and grasses grow and support the larger hill. Due to the denser foliage, more land animals are able to thrive in the back dune. This is the last area of coastal defense between the ocean and the mainland.
A final note of interest, this area is one of the few remaining Dark Sky areas in Florida. Light pollution from urban areas tends to create an aura of light which bleeds into adjacent areas blotting out the stars. Amateur astronomers from Titusville sometimes use the area for better observations under special permits, also available at the entrance.
To claim this Earthcache, please email the cache owner the answers to the following questions:
- Compare where you are standing to the beach you parked at. Is it a different size and elevation? What do you believe is the cause for any differences?
- Estimate the distance between the high tide mark and the beginning of the dune. Estimate the elevation difference.
- Many dune systems in areas of human habitation are removed or damaged. Does the fore dune and back dune appear to have any breaks that would reduce their effectiveness against tropical cyclones?
- What two man made items are here? What role do you think they play?
Please feel free to post any pictures of yourselves that do not interfere with the answers.
LEGACY NOTE: This was originally part of a series called The Four Corners of Brevard. The code on the inside of the log book can be ignored as the series is now completed