Great Miami River Remnant Earthcache EarthCache
Great Miami River Remnant Earthcache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(not chosen)
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in our disclaimer.
As an earthcache, there is no “box” or “container” to discover. Rather, with this cache, you discover something about the geology of the area. For more info, consult www.earthcache.org
During heavy rain times, this area does periodically flood!
Drive to these cords, then turn south (right): N 39 07.224 W 084 50.667 to the cords listed for this cache. You will be driving along Old Channel Lake.
Logging Requirements:
Send the answers to #1-#4 to me through my geocaching profile. DO NOT post the answers to any logging requirements on this site.
1.List the name “GC26AZM Great Miami River Remnant Earthcache” in the first line of your email. Also, list the number of people in your group.
2.Make a waypoint to cords N 39 06.501 W 084 50.107 (the terminous of this oxbow lake). Presuming that you are near the other end of the lake how long is the oxbow lake? What is its primary cardinal orientation (is its length “north to south” or “east to west)?
3.What are three events that help an oxbow lake form quickly? (See description)
4.As you drive to and from the cache, try to identify at least one human built structure that would have been on the EAST side of the Great Miami River prior to the creation of Old Channel Lake. Give me the business name/type of structure.
5. (Now considered optional by GC.com...but if your answers to above questions leave me with questions...the picture sure does help verify the find!) Post a picture of yourself and/or your GPS with your log that shows Old Channel Lake in the background. If you are adverse to photos, simply state the name of the nearby industrial business that you passed on your drive to the cords.
Congrads to KYPetalPusher for FTF on 4/10/10.
I will only respond if you have incomplete logging requirements. Go ahead and log your cache
Getting There:
This earthcache is in a great location if you're looking for a “three-state” day of caching, since it near both the borders of Ohio and Kentucky.
The road is gravel and thus wisdom should be used about WHEN to access this cache. Evidence in the area suggests that at times the road is flooded, and that the harvesters use it extensively, littering the road with corn husks. Simply “follow your nose” east from the nearby US Highway 50, and you should get RIGHT TO IT.
Geology:
An Oxbow Lake is the result of a long geological/river process that is dependent on several factors:
1.Low slope (the elevation of the river that the “oxbow” was once a part of is not dropping very quickly
2.The riverbanks must contain rocks that are relatively easily eroded as the river cuts into its banks.
3.Time! (OR #4)
4.At times, a larger event, such as an earthquake, flood, volcano (out west) or dam (human or natural occurrence) can trigger an oxbow lake overnight by diverting water to a new riverbed.
Let's go into detail: In these areas of low slope (elevation not dropping very quickly), the path of the river begins to wander back and forth creating meanders, or curves. Along each curve, the flow of the river is constantly eroding the outside bank of the meander, while at the same time depositing material on the inside. This is because the area of fastest flow in the river is forced to the outside bank on the curves and the slowest flow is on the inside. Faster water carries more sediment causing the erosion. The slower water is unable to carry as much sediment, so some sediment drops out of the water. The result is a steep bank on the outer edge of a meander and a gentle slope on the inner edge. You may notice from a map that the Ohio River is only a mile or so away, and thus the Great Miami River has almost no slope at this point, and in fact may at one point had a “delta” at this location (as can be supported by the evidence of several other small lakes in the vicinity, all on the Indiana side of the Great Miami River), where the sediment was being dropped rather rapidly as the river neared its confluence with its larger watershed partner.
Over time, these meanders get larger more pronounced as the outer edge is eroded away and the inner edge has material deposited on it. Given enough time, the pronounced oxbow meander gets so curvy that it bends back and touches itself creating an oxbow lake. Remember, water always desires to get “downriver” as fast as possible, and when going “straight through” the neck of was once a LARGE AND SLOW curve proves advantageous (especially if encouraged by one of the large events mentioned above), the river can literally “abandon” the complete bend, leaving a lake that was once part of the main river.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)