The Petitcodiac River is a river located in south-eastern New Brunswick, Canada. Locals often refer to it as the "chocolate river" due to its distinctive brown mud floor and brown waters. Stretching across a meandering length of 79 kilometres, the river drains a watershed area of about 2,071 square kilometres. The watershed features valleys, ridges, and rolling hills, and is home to a diverse population of terrestrial and aquatic species. Ten named tributaries join the river in its course toward its mouth in Shepody Bay. Prior to the construction of a causeway in 1968, the Petitcodiac River had one of the world's largest tidal bores, which ranged from 1 to 2 metres (3.3–6.6 ft) in height and moved at speeds of 5 to 13 kilometres per hour (3.1–8.1 mph). With the opening of the causeway gates in April 2010, the river is flushing itself of ocean silts, and the bore is returning to its former size.
Since the opening and installation of a new 280 meter bridge, the channel width has tripled and the river has improved significantly, surpassing original expectations for the project. The banks of the river had begun widening at a noticeable pace with the tidal bore growing closer to its pre-1968 levels, Also noted that an estimated 40,000 gaspereau had returned to the river, and called for more studies to determine the impact of the causeway's opening.
On October 6th 2023 the bridge spanning the Petitcodiac River between Moncton and Riverview will be called the Honourable Brenda Robertson Bridge. As the first woman elected to the legislative assembly of New Brunswick and first woman to become a cabinet minister in the province, Brenda Robertson broke down barriers and served as a role model for generations of women. She was first elected to the legislative assembly in 1967 representing the riding of Albert and was re-elected four times in 1970, 1974, 1978 and 1982 to represent the riding of Riverview.
To claim this virtual cache please walk out the the observation deck near the posted coordinates and post a picture (please don't take a picture while driving by), preferably of you and/or your group overlooking the beautiful brown river.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.