Glacial Lake Algonquin - Georgian Bay EarthCache

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tomsqrd: Time to put to rest.

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Hidden : 4/16/2007
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:


You are standing at an ancient glacial work zone. During the Wisconsin glaciation (70,000 to 10,000 years ago), ice sheets extended to about 45 degrees north latitude. These sheets were 3 to 4 km thick. This Wisconsinian glaciation left widespread impacts on the North American landscape. The Great Lakes were carved by ice deepening old valleys.


Glacial Lake Algonquin was a proglacial lake that existed in east-central North America at the time of the last ice age. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and inland portions of northern Michigan. The lake varied in size, but it was at the biggest size at the post-glacial period and gradually shrunk to the current Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. At about 7,000 years ago, the lake was replaced by Lake Chippewa as the glaciers retreated and 3,000 years later by the current Lake Michigan. Water from the west (Lake Huron) actually drained to the east (Georgian Bay) through at least two large rivers, through the present day North Bay area and down the Ottawa River to the Atlantic Ocean.

Since the retreat of the glaciers, water levels continued to undergo dramatic fluctuations, some in the magnitude of hundreds of feet. These extremes were caused by changing climates, crustal rebound and natural opening and closing of outlet channels. Within the last 1,000 years, evidence suggests that lake levels exceeded the range of levels recorded since 1865 by an additional five feet on Lake Huron.

Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron, is about 320 kilometres long by 80 kilometres wide. It covers over 15,000 square kilometres, making it almost as large as Lake Ontario. Eastern Georgian Bay is part of the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, a geological formation carved out by the retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age, about 11,000 years ago. The western part of the bay, where you are standing, borders the Niagara Escarpment.


There are tens of thousands of islands in Georgian Bay. Most of these islands are along the east side of the bay and are collectively known as the "Thirty Thousand Islands," including the larger Parry Island and Christian Island. Manitoulin Island, lying along the northern side of the bay is the world's largest island in a freshwater lake. The Trent-Severn Waterway connects Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario, running from Port Severn in the southeastern corner of Georgian Bay through Lake Simcoe into Lake Ontario near Trenton. Further north, Lake Nipissing drains into it through the French River. In October 2004, the Georgian Bay Littoral was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

This cache will take you to a beach at Wingfield Point on Cabot Head, overlooking Wingfield Basin and Georgian Bay. Located on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula, this Earthcache can be reached by turning east off Highway 6 on the Dyers Bay Road. Follow the road through Dyer's Bay and bear right for the shore road to Cabot Head and follow it to the end. Please use caution and courtesy when driving through Dyers Bay as there are cottages, families, and children playing.

To log this cache you need to complete the following requirements:

1. You will need to take the temperatures of Georgian Bay and the Wingfield Basin and report them back by way of e-mail. These should have many fluctuations due the depths in these bodies of water and the time of year you visit.

2. You are standing on some glacial till left behind when the glaciers retreated. Describe in your e-mail what is the average size of the till.

3. Post a picture of your group with the bay in the background. Include in your e-mail the number of people in your group. You can also get a nice picture of parts of the Niagara Escarpment. Post any other pictures you wish to mark your visit.

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