I was inspired to create this Earthcache one summer afternoon when I was wallking home from Rathtrevor Park. While crossing the Englishman River via the famed Orange Bridge's south sidewalk I paused mid-span to check out the river. I could easily conclude that the water level was lower than normal when I spotted an excellent example of a river undercut.
A river undercut? What does that mean? Simply put, an undercut is "a rock formation that develops when a body of water erodes the base of a rock. This erosion results in an overhanging top layer of rock that protrudes past the lower layer of the rock."
This should be a very quick and easy EarthCache for most cachers to complete but I implore you to use common sense, be aware of your surroundings, and keep a sharp eye out for traffic on the bridge, whether that traffic is vehicles, bicycles, or fellow pedestrians.
If you are driving to check out this EarthCache I would suggest Martindale Road would be your best bet to find handy parking but please avoid inconveniencing any of the local businesses.
In order to log a find for this EarthCache you will need to answer the following three questions and submit the answers to the cache owner via email or messaging. Please do not include your answers in your posted log as this will result in your log being deleted.
Here are your questions:
- Looking upstream can you estimate how far the deepest undercut has worn into the riverbank? Please describe where this undercut is located. (NOTE: During periods of extremely high water levels a "best guess" response is acceptable)
- What factors do you believe are likely to have contributed to the genesis and expansion of that undercut?
- Can you think of any dangers this deepest undercut might present to people and/or their pets who may be using the river or its banks for recreational purposes?
An optional extra task for you to include is to snap a photo of you and/or your caching teammate(s) at GZ with your estimate of the river's water level at the tme you visited the location.
Thanks for visiting this location my and I hope you enjoyed this, my eighth EarthCache!