Pokagon State Park is surrounded by lakes on its North, West, and South borders. Lake James consists of three major basins and totals over 1100 acres. Steuben County has over 120 lakes; more than any other county in Indiana. These lakes are visual evidence of the last glacial lobe (the Wisconsin Glacier) that pushed into this area and stopped. The gouging and piling of this huge ice sheet caused great variation in lake bottom depths. Lake James drops off in places to over 80 feet!
The entire area was formed by the final glacial episode that directly influenced Indiana. This glacial episode built the Fort Wayne Moraine,which forms two sides of a triangle, with the apex at Fort Wayne. A Moraine is defined as "An accumulation of boulders, stones, or other debris carried and deposited by a glacier." Most, if not all, the stones and boulders in this area, therefore, are the result of glacial deposits.
Once the glacier stalled with its large cargo of boulders, rocks, and debris right over Northeast Indiana, it rapidly melted, depositing them in the Northeast corner. The lake stage rose until it overtopped the moraine at Fort Wayne, and rapidly eroded an outlet through the moraine, flooding the entire Wabash Valley. The Maumee Torrent, as it is called, was the last major dynamic geological event to shape Indiana's landscape.
To complete this cache, you must take the pH of Lake James. You can do this by using a pool pH test strip, available for purchase at any pool supply store. You must also post a photo of you with your GPSr and the test strip or test kit you used at the coordinates with Lake James in the background. Email us with the pH reading you obtained within 24 hours of posting your log. These requirement must be met or your log will be deleted.