Official Stuff
This Earthcache is hidden in Hurricane Shoals Park. Permission has been granted by the County Manager. The park is NOT open year-round. Please obey all posted times. As of 3/8/2020, here are the hours*
- January-February: PARK CLOSED
- March: Open Saturdays and Sundays, 10 AM to 6 PM
- April: Open Daily 10 AM to 8 PM
- May 1st- Labor Day: Daily 9 AM to 9 PM
- September - October: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 10 AM to 8 PM
- November-December: PARK CLOSED
*Note hours are subject to change. Please obey all posted hours
This Cache!!
This is an Earthcache! There is no physical cache to find/sign a log for. To receive credit for the Earthcache, please answer the questions below and provide a photo of you at the site.
Here are the questions to answer:
- If you are submitting for multiple people, please list the names of all people in your group.
- Look out into the North Oconee River. Do you see evidence of a shoal here?
- Describe the material that makes up the Shoals. What color is it? Is it fine grained or rocky?
- On which side of the river are the shoals more pronounced? Do you have any theories on why this is so?
- Looking North of the shoals, what do you estimate the width of the river to be? What do you estimate the width to be at the shoals? How do they compare? Is this expected?
- Please take a photo of yourself with the shoals in the background!
Please submit your answers via the Geocaching Messaging feature or by clicking my profile name and selecting "Send Email". Any "Found it" log that does not have answers submitted within 7 days will be deleted.
What is a Shoal?
A shoal is a natural, underwater ridge, bank, or bar consisting of, or covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, rising from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. They can develop where a stream, river, or ocean current promotes deposition of sediment and granular material, resulting in localized shallowing (shoaling) of the water.
Shoals are usually composed of sand, although any granular matter that the moving water has access to and is capable of shifting around (for example, soil, silt, gravel, cobble, shingle, or even boulders) can create a shoal. For a shoal to form, not only must the grain size be capable of being carried by the currents, but there must also be sufficient materials to be moved by the water.
Shoals differ from Shallows in the type of material present. Typically, a shallow will include boulders or other large objects that may have created a natural dam on the water.
Shoals can be a hinderance to river navigation and in some places, towns have risen nearby for the sole purpose of keeping the shoals area navigable!
Sources
Shoal. (2003, August 12). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoal
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. (n.d.). Understanding the habitat value and function of shoal/ridge/trough complexes to fish and fisheries on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf. https://www.boem.gov/sites/default/files/non-energy-minerals/Final-Draft-Report.pdf