Three Rivers Confluence EarthCache

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Che K: Say goodnight, Gracie! Thanks to all who have logged this cache!

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Hidden : 12/12/2006
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:


Three Rivers Confluence





Confluence n. A flowing together of two or more streams. The point of juncture of such streams. The combined stream formed by this juncture.

The geological example represented here is a stream capture event. Other names for stream capture include river capture, stream piracy and river piracy.

The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers.

Stream capture is a phenomenon that occurs when two streams run into each other by one of several means. It usually involves one low level stream and one higher level stream coming together. The higher level stream begins to fully or partly flow out the lower level stream channel.


The most significant capture event that occurred in our area occurred in what is now downtown Fort Wayne. Here the Maumee River, which had formed on the drained surface of Glacial Lake Maumee, captured both the St. Joseph and St. Marys Rivers, causing their waters to be diverted from the Wabash-Erie Sluiceway into the Maumee and then northeastward to Lake Erie.

Where meltwater is funneled through a valley, the resulting landform is called a sluiceway. A sluiceway is a valley or channel that conducted large amounts of glacial meltwater that may or may not be occupied by a modern stream and is commonly associated with one or more ice margins.


A characteristic of a river that has undergone capture is a feature called the elbow of capture. This ‘elbow of capture’ represents a distinct change in the direction of the channel. The change in channel direction is made when capture has taken place, and it represents the point where one stream took over another. You can clearly see this elbow on both topo maps and aerial photos of this confluence.

To log this cache you must stand at the coordinates above and take or have a picture of yourself taken holding your GPSr,with your face visible, with the confluence in the background. THE PHOTO MUST BE UPLOADED AT THE TIME OF YOUR LOG.

You must also send an email with certain information. On your way to the site you will pass a plaque that gives information about the Headwaters of the Maumee. The text mentions the last Ice Age in this area and gives the name of the lobe that left the Continental Divide. From information on that plaque, send an email to the owner of this cache stating how many years ago the last Ice Age occured and the name of the lobe that left the Continental Divide. Do not put this information in your log. This information MUST BE EMAILED AT THE TIME OF YOUR LOG.

Public parking for this earthcache is at:
41 05.062
85 08.009


The viewing site for this cache at the coordinates listed above is situated along The River Greenway. The gates to this part of the Greenway are open from Sunrise to Sunset. If you find your way blocked, We will accept any photo of the confluence, preferably with the Bridge in the background...

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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