To log this earthcache, answer the questions by email/Direct Message.
***All sincere efforts to complete the tasks and answer the questions will be accepted.
Welcome to SAM's Network of Stewardship Earth Cache's. By establishing this Network, SAM hopes to encourage Cachers to visit local conservation areas in NL, to appreciate why the area is being conserved and to learn more about why the area is being protected.
Who is SAM?
The Stewardship Association of Municipalities Inc (known affectionately as “SAM”) is an incorporated, non-profit organization. SAM works with the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture in NL to secure, enhance, & restore important wildlife habitat (wetlands, uplands, coastal areas, & species at risk habitat) within municipal planning boundaries by encouraging municipalities to seek a balance between development and conservation. As a network of communities who practice environmental stewardship across NL, SAM contributes to maintaining & enhancing biodiversity in the province.
The Town of Gander has 5 Conservation Areas within their planning boundaries: Northwest Bog, Cobb's Pond, Whitman's Pond, Peyton's Pond and the constructed wetland in the community of Benton. These areas are identified as having important nesting and brood-rearing habitat for a large number of waterfowl species. Some common wildlife species observed in the area include American black duck, ring-necked duck, green-winged teal, Canada goose, beaver, mink, river otter and muskrat.
Cobb's Pond is one of Gander's 5 Conservation Areas outlined in their Habitat Stewardship Agreement. Cobb’s Pond is also a well known Municipal Park - having a boardwalk/nature trail around the perimeter of the pond and is visited by thousands of people every year. The park also has picnic areas, playgrounds and several observation decks. Cobb’s Pond is also used for canoeing and kayaking in the summer and cross-country skiing on the trails in the winter. Despite the amount of usage in the area, Cobb’s Pond is fairly productive and is consistently utilized by waterfowl and other wildlife species, such as Ring-neck Duck (Aythya collaris), nesting Common Loon (Gavia immer), broods of American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) and Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis) and Beaver (Castor canadensis).
Gander's SAM Member Page
Geology of Gander
Cobb's Pond Rotary Park was named for Alexander Cobb, a master stonemason who came from Scotland to work on the Newfoundland Railway. Cobb not only helped build, but also trained many Newfoundlanders to operate the Railway. Cobb commanded the first train and crew that crossed Newfoundland to carry out repairs and complete the line before the first passenger train in 1898. The old railway line - now the Newfoundland T'Railway Provincial Park - runs along the southern border of Cobb's Pond Park. You are standing on Jim's Lookout, named for Rotarian Jim Foran, who exemplified "Service Above Self". This trail extension was constructed to provide a unique central vantage point on the water.
On this constructed lookout are some beautiful large stones that add to the aesthetic of the small platform you are standing on, including the large granite one bearing the dedication placard to Jim's Lookout. Select heavy rocks must be placed along the edge of any infilling to provide slope stability and erosion protection, however these rocks are not a part of that protection.
The Gander Geological Zone has siltstone, shale and quartz sandstone as well as granite and deformed rocks.
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Siltstone
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Shale
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Quartz Sandstone
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Granite
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Gander Geological Zone Rock Types
The Gander Zone neighbours the Humber Zone and the Dunnage Zone, which make up Gros Morne National Park, where you can visit the Tablelands - also known as the only place on the Earth's surface where mantle material is present as cool, crystallized rock, known as peridotite. Peridotite originally formed the mantle beneath the seafloor of the ancient Iapetus Ocean. About 450 million years ago, as Europe and Africa converged with North America, the Iapetus Ocean closed, and a portion of the oceanic crust was thrust onto the eastern edge of the North American continent.
Some peridotite can be found here, at Jim's Lookout. Peridotite is a coarse-grained Igneous Rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Like most peridotites in the Tablelands, peridotite can serpentinise to create distinctive spiderweb pattern of veining on its surface - serpentinisation is the process through which the olivines in the peridotite reacts with rainwater to turn into serpentine (a fibrous material similar to asbestos).
Please answer the following questions to log this Earth Cache:
- In accordance with the updated guidelines from Geocaching HQ (June 2019), photos are now an acceptable logging requirement and will be required to log this cache. Please share a photo of yourself, your GPS, or a personal item with the peridotite present at Jim's Lookout as proof of visit to the site.
- Observe the peridotite rock. What does the surface of the rock remind you of? Based on your observation, where do you think the name for serpentine comes from?
- When did the Town of Gander and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador sign their MUNICIPAL HABITAT STEWARDSHIP AGREEMENT?