This is ACCESSIBLE ONLY BY BOAT; accessing by land constitutes trespassing, hence the terrain rating.
You will have to exit your watercraft to complete this earthcache.
There are a few fallen trees along the creek, most you can paddle around, and a bit of a current (depending on water levels).
Most of all, ENJOY YOUR PADDLE!
TO LOG THIS EARTHCACHE
Please send the answers via my profile for the following questions. Do not post answers with your log.
1) What is the approximate size of the Oxbow Lake?
2) What is the approximate distance from the edge of the lake closest to the river and the river's edge (where you parked your watercraft)?
3) Photos of a favourite spot on the river are welcome.
An Oxbow Lake
What is an Oxbow Lake
In simple terms, Oxbow lakes are the remains of the bend in the river. Oxbow lakes are stillwater lakes. This means that water does not flow into or out of them. There is no stream or spring feeding the lake, and it doesn't have a natural outlet. Oxbow lakes often become swamps or bogs, and they often dry up as their water evaporates.
For Inquiring Minds.....Why does this Happen?
An oxbow lake is a lake, or area of water made by special bends in a river, called meanders, getting farther away from the river until they become separate and the bend becomes a lake. This happens due to fast running currents, floods or when a meander's neck gets too thin.
Water flows at different speeds at different parts of the river. In the middle, farthest away from the sides (or banks), the water flows fastest. At the banks, the water flows slowest. When the river bends, water flows faster on the outside of the bend than the inside. The fast water on the outside 'erodes' the outside of the bend. This means it breaks bits of the bank off. At the same time, the slow water on the inside of the bend leaves behind mud, sand and parts of plants (deposition). Together, these make the bend move in the direction of the outside of the bend.
The bend moves farther and farther along until it leaves the river and the bend is left as an oxbow lake.
For Visual Learners (like myself)
