Cheverie Shingle Spit and Estuary EarthCache

Cheverie Shingle Spit and Estuary

Cheverie is a community in the West Hants County of Nova Scotia. The community has a history of mining gypsum. Cheverie and the nearby surrounding area offers some complex geology

Cheverie Creek is a small-sized tidal river located in Cheverie. Salt water regularly floods the entire marsh through a culvert in the causeway that crosses Cheverie Creek from the Bay of Fundy. When the tide is out fresh water flows to the Bay. At the mouth of the creek is a shingle spit the projects across the opening of the Cheverie creek and also works as a natural  tidal barrier. Tidal barriers are structures that prevent the natural movement of tidal waters into low-lying coastal areas. The most common types of tidal barriers are causeways with culverts that are either too small or not properly located within the waterway to allow for the natural movement of water and species.

Spits

Spits are also created by deposition, a shingle spit is made with silt and various sizes of stone. A spit is an extended stretch of beach material that projects out to sea and is joined to the mainland at one end. Spits are formed where the prevailing wind blows at an angle to the coastline, resulting in longshore drift. Longshore (littoral) drift is the movement of material along the shore by wave action. It happens when waves approach the beach at an angle. The swash (waves moving up the beach) carries material up and along the beach.

Bar-built Estuaries

Bar-built or restricted-mouth estuaries occur when sandbars or barrier islands are built up by ocean waves and currents along coastal areas fed by one or more rivers or streams. The streams or rivers flowing into bar-built estuaries typically have a very low water volume during most of the year. Under these conditions, the bars may grow into barrier beaches or islands and the estuary can become permanently blocked. The area between the coast and the barrier beaches or islands are protected areas of calm water called lagoons.

Barrier beaches or islands break the impact of destructive ocean waves before they can reach the estuary and mainland, consequently protecting them. The barrier beaches take the brunt of the waves' force and are sometimes completely washed away, leaving the estuary and coast exposed and vulnerable. During heavy rains, large volumes of water flowing down the river or stream can also completely wash away small bars and reopen the mouth of the estuary.

Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that act as a transition zone between the land and the sea. Healthy salt marshes provide habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife. Salt marshes contribute significantly to the overall productivity of the Bay of Fundy. A salt marsh may also be known as a tidal marsh or a coastal salt marsh. The base of a salt marsh is made up of large amounts of peat, which consists of decomposing plant matter that may extend several feet in depth. The entire area is flooded by seawater at high tide and drained at low tide. This combination of flooding and peat soil creates an environment of low oxygen, referred to as hypoxia, that promotes the growth of special bacteria. The vast majority of the plants that grow are salt tolerant in order to resist the saltwater conditions prevalent in this habitat. These plants help the salt marsh habitat to retain its sediment, which is generally deposited by rivers flowing into the ocean, by preventing erosion. In addition, salt marshes work to prevent flooding by taking in excessive rainfall.

To log this Earthcache visit the viewing location.  Please answer the following questions and send in a timely manner to my geocaching profile or email. Answers not received will result in deleted logs.

Questions:

1. How long and wide is the shingle spit, and elevation at ground zero? 

2. How big is the estuary (on east side of road), in acres, that you can see from ground zero?

3. Which direction is the water flowing, into the  Bay of Fundy or Into Estuary? 

4. Post a picture in your log with a personal item or hand in picture to prove you were there.

[REQUIRED] In accordance with the updated guidelines from Geocaching Headquarters published in June 2019, photos are now an acceptable logging requirement and WILL BE REQUIRED TO LOG THIS CACHE. Please provide a photo of yourself or a personal item in the picture to prove you visited the site.