hey billy isthmus ask you a question. Do you know what an isthmus is?
To Log this Earthcache:
To log this Earthcache, please submit the answers to the following questions to the CO at the top of this cache page. Do your best with the answers. The goal of this EarthCache is to teach you a bit more about the local geology, and hopefully you learn something new.
From the lesson:
- In geology what is an isthmus? Include how an isthmus is formed
- Compare and contrast an isthmus and a strait.
- Explain why an isthmus is a strategic location in human history.
Site specific tasks:
- From your observations at the site how you know you are on an isthmus? Explain how your reached your conclusion.
- Is the strait you can see at the site natural or man made? Describe two features to support your answer.
- Observe the topography- would this isthmus provide an easy land crossing?
Photo Requirement
With your log post a photo of yourself, your GPS, or a personal signature item with the little boat replica in the background. You do not need to show your face.
The Lesson
At this Earthcache location you are standing on an isthmus! This narrow neck of land separates Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte.
Does it all sound Greek to you? That is because the Greek “isthmos” means “neck”: You can see how this neck-like bit of land Isthmus meaning comes from a Greek word that literally means neck.
An isthmus is a stretch of land that connects two larger landmasses and is bordered by bodies of water. A neck-like “land bridge” with water on two sides. It is often the most direct land route between two large areas.
This isthmus consists of accumulated gravel and sand carried by the current and deposited at a less turbulent part of the current. The shoals of scraped underwater table rock in this area are extensions of the limestone rock carved by glaciers during the last ice age. Waves and tides slowly built up the isthmus to create this permanent link.
In contrast a strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. A strait may be formed by a fracture in an isthmus, caused by a tectonic plate shift. Fractures in an isthmus can be created by human activity. These straits are usually called canals.
Isthmuses are of great importance in plant and animal geography because they offer a path for the migration of plants and animals between the two land masses they connect. In human history isthmuses are important for ports and canals to link land and aquatic trade routes.
The route across this isthmus was known to indigenous people as the Carrying Place. They would carry canoes across as they took advantage of a short cut across this land bridge as the paddled east/west.
Thank you to Parks Canada for granting permission for this Earthcache!
Sources: Signage at the Earthcache location by Parks Canada Britannia Isthmuses Prince Edward County Historic Notes A History of Carrying Place and The Murray Canal by Dan Buchanan