All 150 coins have been claimed for 2026. The caches are still in place but the 2026 challenge has ended. Thank you for coming out and enjoying LBL Heritage.
This Geocache is part of an annual Geocache Challenge put on by the Heritage Program at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area as part of our outreach to the public, to get people to explore their forest and their history, and to share the unique heritage of the families from Between the Rivers.
This Geocache is part of the “2026 Land Between the Lakes Heritage Geocache Challenge: Mississippian Indians”. There are 6 geocaches placed across Land Between the Lakes related to the history of the Mississippian Indians (A.D. 1000 – 1500) along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. If you locate each geocache, and collect a numbered aluminum tree tag from each cache, you can turn them in at the Golden Pond Visitor Center for one of 150 Challenge Coins created for this event.
The Geocache is a 6” x 6” orange watertight plastic box marked “Heritage Geocache” on the top. The geocache is placed under a log.
River Cane Geocache
A forest of River Cane or Canebreak.
One of the few native bamboos in North America. Indigenous peoples of the Southeast—like the Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek—used this tall, hollow plant in almost every part of daily life. River cane was woven into baskets, mats, and walls of homes. It was carved into arrows, blowguns, and musical instruments
Cherokee River Cane Woven Mat
Cherokee people today continue the practice of weaving river cane mats, just as their Mississippian ancestors did. Cane mats were placed on floors of homes and hung on walls. Impressions of woven cane designs have been found at archaeological sites.
Mississippian Houses
Durning the Mississippian time period, river cane was woven in between the wooden posts of walls to create a surface to adhere clay to. This type of Construction was called Wattle-and-Daub.
Archaeologists can find the impressions of river cane at the locations where Mississippian houses once stood. If the house burned down, the clay walls hardened showing perfect imprints of the cane.
River Cane Basketry
River Cane was used to weave baskets during Mississippian times just as it continues to be used by Native Americans in the Southeast today.
After the cane is harvested, it is cut into long strips which are soaked in water to maintain flexibility during weaving.
