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Introduction
Welcome to Bald Head island! Home to the border of the cape fear river, and north atlantic ocean. There are plenty of activities to do on this small island; one of them is geocaching! There are virtuals, traditionals, and earthcaches! Note that it is rather expensive to come to the island. $15 each for a ferry ride. In this earth cache we will be talking about the frying pan shoals. These shoals were formd from silt coming from the cape fear. (GC7E5F) dances around the subject; but we will be going into detail. At ground zero you are standing at the southeastern most point of NC (if the tide is permitting). Here you have a great look over the shoals.
What are the Frying Pan Shoals?
The Frying pan shoals are an area of shifting shoals formed by silt brought from the cape fear river. The shoals are 28 miles long; from top to bottom. They are named after their distinct frying pan shape. According to sources: "They provide excellent fishing"). I guess that is another reason they call it the "frying pan shoals"! The shoals are famously known as part of the infamous "graveyard of the atlantic." Because since May 1994, 130 shipwreks have been discovered here. This is because the water is shallow and treacherous. It is reported that by the end of the shoals close to the frying pan tower, that the water is only 35-50 ft deep!
Science behind the Shoals
A shoal is a natural submerged ridge. It is formed by the deposition of silt, sand, or other materials. Shoals will characteristicly form at the edge of rivers, streams, and ocean currents. The shoal here is formed because of silt from the cape fear river. As you can see on the map; the main channel with deep water flows directly south, while the silt and debris goes east and forms here. This is also promoted by dredging of material which is dumped into the shoals. These shoals are on average 35-50 ft which does pose a risk to marine vessels. In the shoals fish flourish do to shallow waters and multiple reefs call the area home. The cape fear river goes back pretty far. So it brings back lots of silt! The river splits into three rivers in the Wilmington area. The Brunswick river, Cape Fear, and the north-east cape fear. In the lake sutton/ north-west Wilmington area; it splits into the black river, and the south river. In between Fayetville, and Raleigh; the cape fear ends and splits into the Haw, and the deep. Imagine thousands of tons of sediment coming from 7 rivers dumping into the Atlantic ocean. That is why these shoals are so big. These shoals slightly shift every year too.
What is unique about this Shoal
In North Carolina; there are 3 sets of Shoals. The diamond shoals in Cape Hatteras, The lookout shoals in Cape Lookout, and here the Frying Pan Shoals in Bald Head Island. These shoals affect coastal circulization patterns, therefore taking a toll on navigation. And just by looking at the map you can tell that the Frying Pan Shoals are the biggest shoals on the east coast of the United States. Nearly being 100x bigger than the lookout, and diamond shoals. This shoal also carries the majority of coastal sediment on the east coast. (According to USGS). ThE Frying Pan's are known as "the sink" in the ocean.
Dredging of the Shoals
According to B.O.E.M and many other sources; The Frying Pan Shoals will soon become a part of a dredging project. As you may know erosion takes a HUGE toll on coastal communities. Every few years there are renourishment projects. In Febuarary 2024 for example Wrightsville beach is being renourished. Renourishment is the process of dredging sand and sediment and putting it back on beaches. As we have already covered there is alot of sediment from the cape fear region getting dumped into the shoals. That is why BOEM thinks it is a great area for a dredging project. You see dredging cost a lot of money. For example Bald Head Islands beaches had to be renourished 9 times between 2001-2019. That costed a whopping $68 million dollars! Dredging the shoals could be a cheaper alternitive. Beaches need sand and this is where to find it. It would likely take some environmental impact on native fish populations, and the fisheries.
How to log this cache
To log this cache you need to answer the questions below.
Questions
1. How do you think continuous dredging of the Shoals may affect them?
2. Think about this: The shoals have much shallower water than the deep dark ocean. Right? So wouldn't the waves be calmer than the regular beach? Tell me your observations.
Please message my Geocaching profile with your observations :)
Note
It is ok if you do not get to ground zero. The beach fluctuates when it is renourished. The map photography also may have been taken at different times. When we look at the image below we will see the difference between google maps on the left apple maps on the right. I made this earth cache on a computer using google maps. That is why the coordinates are here. Happy Hunting!
Pictures
