Caribou Island EarthCache

Caribou Island

Caribou is a small rural community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Located on the Northumberland Strait northwest of the town of Pictou, Caribou is named after the Woodland Caribou which used to live in Nova Scotia. Nearby geographic locations using the name include Caribou Harbour, a bay on which the community is situated, as well as the communities of Caribou Island, Central Caribou and Caribou River. Caribou Island is tied to the mainland via a peninsula at Waterside.

Caribou became an important port after it was selected by the federal government in the late 1930s to be the Nova Scotia terminal for a seasonal ferry service to eastern Prince Edward Island. The service, operated by Northumberland Ferries Limited since its inception in 1941, carries passenger, vehicle and truck traffic to Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island between May and December.

Caribou also hosts a small passenger-only seasonal ferry service to Pictou Island, departing from the small craft fishing harbour adjacent to the NFL ferry terminal.

Geology

The Caribou area is part of the Pictou Group which was formed during the Late Carboniferous period (306Ma). The Pictou Group is composed of red beds of sandstone with some siltstone also present, and rarely you can find conglomerate and coal.

By the Late Carboniferous Period, the continents that make up modern North America and Europe had collided with the southern continents of Gondwana to form  the western half of Pangea. Ice covered much of the southern hemisphere and vast coal swamps formed along the equator. Much of the region was lush and tropical.

The outer Island (Caribou) is a stony, sandy matrix, material derived from local bedrock sources. The material was released from the base of an ice sheet when melting. On the eastern side of the outer island sits the Gull spit to the south and the to the north is the Caribou reef. Both of these structures were formed due to the impact for the island's placement at the outer mouth of the Caribou river.

The connection between the inner Island and outer island is a Marine deposit of gravel, sand, silt, clay and is locally overlain by peat (salt marsh). It was formed by coastline sedimentation through wave action, longshore currents and tides. The topography is beaches, spits, and bars with intertidal salt marsh and mudflats creating the tombulo.

The inner island and peninsula is a stony till plain made up of a stony, sandy matrix, material derived from local bedrock sources. Like the outer island this material was released from the base of an ice sheet by melting. On the north side of the peninsula is another large marine deposit made of gravel, sand, silt, clay and locally overlain by salt marsh. This is the main beach for the local provincial park called Waterside Beach.

Geological features

Below is a list of some of the geological features that you will identify at various locations. You can use this list to help answer the questions. There are also a number of tidal marshes and salt ponds along the route.

Barrier Island

A barrier island is a constantly changing deposit of sand that forms parallel to the coast. As wind and waves shift according to weather patterns and local geographic features, these islands constantly move, erode, and grow.

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is almost entirely surrounded by water but is connected to the mainland on one side.

Spits

A spit is a narrow coastal land formation that is tied to the coast at one end. Spits frequently form where the coast abruptly changes direction and often occur across the mouths of estuaries; they may develop from either a headland or a harbour mouth.

Tombulo

A Tombolo is one or more sandbars or spits that connect an island to the mainland. A single tombolo may connect a tied island to the mainland, or a double tombolo encloses a lagoon that eventually fills with sediment. The shallower waters that occur between an island and the mainland are the loci of such features because sandbars form there.

Beach

A beach is a narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of an ocean, lake, or river. Materials such as sand, pebbles, rocks, and seashell fragments cover beaches. Most beach materials are the products of weathering and erosion.

To log this Earthcache visit all the viewing locations.  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. At this location N45° 45.725' W62° 46.675' (Ref A), name the geological feature?

2. At this location N45° 45.572' W62° 46.458'  (Ref B), name the geological feature to the south?

3. At this location N 45° 45.633 W 062° 44.523 (Ref C), name the geological feature to the south?

4. At this location N 45° 45.702 W 062° 42.615 (Ref D), which geological feature is this?

5. At ground zero N45° 45.872' W62° 40.830',  what is the man made feature here?

6. Also at ground zero what is the geological feature you are visiting (hint the whole area, not specific spot)?

7. Also at ground zero what is the geological feature from the south to east that wraps around the ground zero area?

8. Measure the length of the peninsula and Caribou Island from N45° 45.602' W62° 46.850' (Ref E) to ground zero?

9. 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.