A National Heritage Area (NHA) is a place where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. In 1984, the first NHA (Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Area) was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. In the dedication speech, he referred to NHA’s as “a new kind of national park” that married heritage conservation, recreation, and economic development. As of 2023, 62 National Heritage Areas are designated. Each NHA is created through individual federal law.
On March 30th, 2009, the United States Congress designed the Northern Plains National Heritage Area (NOPL NHA) into existence. This is the only NHA in North Dakota. The Northern Plains National Heritage Area is in central North Dakota and includes Burleigh, Mclean, Mercer, Oliver, and Morton counties along an 80-mile stretch of the Missouri River. The NOPL NHA amplifies the important national heritage that flows from the Missouri River in central North Dakota. This includes the interconnected stories of explorers and settlers, tribal citizens, origins of various agrarian lifeways, and the expansion of the United States reflected within this lived-in landscape.
In the spring 2022 the NOPL NHA Orientation Headquarters opened at this beautiful location along the Missouri River. The building is a twenty-first century take on the post-and-beam warehouses that crowded the riverfront in the nineteenth century. The building houses a restaurant & bar, expansive patio overlooking the Missouri River, gift shop & ticket sales for the Lewis & Clark Riverboat. Also, inside is an interactive kiosk with interpretive programming for visitors to explore the many scenic, historic, and recreational sites along the river. Since this is the headquarters for the NOPL NHA you can have your Passport To Your National Parks booklet stamped inside.
At GZ you will find a large, engraved granite inlay that sits, in front of the building. You should be standing on the compass :)
Logging Requirements: In order to log this Virtual geocache, you will need to complete the following tasks. You will not have to wait for validation to claim this Virtual:
- Message me the answers to the following two question within 48 hours of logging your find. Use the plaque, right of the front doors with a book passage on it:
- Who is the author of the book?
- What should the map do at this location?
- Take a picture of yourself, your GPS, or a personal item near the posted coordinates with either the river or building in the background and include it with your log. Please do not include any spoilers to the above questions and you are not required to include your face in this photo.
Logs that do not meet the requirements will be deleted. Happy caching!
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.