Stillwater Bog EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

geoawareUSA1: No response from owner. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email), and assuming it meets the current guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.

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Hidden : 1/23/2009
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

This cache is at the end of a short walk along paved trails to a tree-enclosed bog in the middle of Snoqualmie Ridge. The cache site is a wooden boardwalk that extends out into the bog providing an outstanding view.

Parking information: the closest parking is across from a neighborhood park located at N47 32.198 W121 52.247. Walk through the park to an asphalt pathway and turn right...the entrance to the bog is a short walk away.


To log this cache, you are required to do two things:

#1: Read the interpretive signs at the site and email answers to the following questions to the cache owner. DO NOT post the answers in your log!

a. How was the shallow depression that eventually became Stillwater Bog formed?
b. How many years does it take to accumulate an inch of peat in western Washington bogs?
c. How can you tell Stillwater Bog is an old bog?

#2: Post a photo of yourself at the bog in your log.

About Stillwater Bog
Stillwater Bog began its life approximately 12,000 years ago when the glaciers that were covering western Washington retreated leaving many shallow, cold ponds carved by the melting ice. In time, Sphagnum moss colonized the pond in the process described below. Stillwater Bog is protected from ground water and receives all of its water from rain and snow. Unlike many bogs, Stillwater Bog has a shallow outlet stream on its north end that slowly directs water out of the bog and eventually into the Snoqualmie River.

Stillwater Bog serves many purposes in the Snoqualmie Ridge area. By preserving wetland habitat, some species of animals can coexist with development such as birds, deer, beavers, and amphibians. The bog is also part of the stormwater management system on the Snoqualmie Ridge and links various stormwater retention ponds in the area.

How Bogs Form
Bogs are most common in the cooler, northern portions of the world that receive plentiful amounts of rain and snow. Shallow depressions that fill with water are occasionally colonized by Sphagnum moss, gaining a foot-hold in these poorly drained, infertile lakes. Where Sphagnum moss grows, it changes the environment for other plants by acidifying the water. While a few plants can tolerate the acidic conditions, most cannot. Sphagnum moss becomes the dominant species and begins to expand towards the center of the lake.

Sphagnum moss spreads slowly. Old layers sink under the weight of new layers. The cold, acidic water is an unfriendly environment for the bacteria that decompose dead plants and animals. Without these bacteria, the layers of dead moss build up year over year. As the layers build, they compress the layers below into peat. A shallow moat often forms around the outer edge of the bog as the peat slowly fills the lake. Eventually, the lake is so shallow that there is no longer an open pool of water in the center - only a thin quaking mat of moss with a few shrubs. This stage in bog development is called the quaking bog because if you were to walk on the bog, the ground would feel like you were walking on a waterbed. While the ground may look solid, under foot is only a thin layer of moss covering a pool of dark, cold water. Because this water circulates and drains so slowly, this water may be hundreds of years old.

Eventually, layers of dead peat and a living surface of Sphagnum will completely fill the entire lake. Trees grow very slowly due to the lack of nutrients and the acidic water. With little soil for anchoring, their trunks become gnarled as they tip in different directions. Trees stretch their roots into the peat searching for firmer, richer mineral soil beneath. More typical wetland plants such as Douglas spirea, slough sedge, wooly sedge, and soft rush are commonly found in the moat along the edge of bogs. Eventually, wetland shrubs will colonize the edges of the bog and more trees will take root.

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