Red Creek Basin EarthCache
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This Earthcache site is located a couple hundred feet off of U.S. 191 at an overlook of the Red Creek Basin. The view in this basin has been deemed special enough that this area has been set aside by the Bureau of Land Management as the Greater Red Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and is managed for its visual esthetics.
Erosion has caused the stunning views in this basin. The Red Creek Badlands are located to the east of this site, the Teepee Mountains are to the southeast, and the Richards Mountains are to the southwest. Richards Gap, through which Red Creek flows and drains the entire basin, is to the south. Red Creek is sustained by numerous springs in the basin, along with precipitation from winter snows and seasonal rains.
The drainage to the immediate south is Ely Creek, which begins as a spring just below the highway. Ely Creek is usually a dry wash on the surface, but subsurface waters flow until Ely Creek meets Red Creek about 3.5 miles to the southeast of this site. The elevation where the creeks come together is 6580’.
Red Creek then continues flowing to the southwest for approximately 5 miles, until it flows through Richards Gap at 6320’. Eventually, Red Creek flows into the Green River.
To log this cache, email me with the answers to the following questions:
1) Take an elevational reading at this point and tell me what the vertical difference is between this overlook, and the intersection of Red Creek and Ely Creek.
2) Using the elevations given, how many feet does the creek drop between the intersection of Red Creek and Ely Creek, and Richards Gap? What is the slope of the creek in this distance?
Posting photos of yourself, or the local geology, in your log can be an additional rewarding part of your journey, but is not a requirement for logging this EarthCache, and is strictly optional.
The above information was compiled from the following source:
Spearing, D. and D. Lageson. 1988. Roadside Geology of Wyoming.
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