Flat Fresno Earthcache EarthCache
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Fresno is considered to be a very flat city, and mostly is for reasons that will be given below. However, when you are standing at GZ you will easily be able to observe that the city is not completely flat. I will give you some information about the ridge upon which you are standing and then ask you some questions.
There is no container for this earthcache; you must visit the coordinates listed and answer five questions about the geology/geography of the place you are visiting. Please send your answers to me within three days of logging your find; otherwise I will have to delete the log. Please, no armchair visits; come to GZ and observe what there is to see! The reason that so much of Fresno is flat is that the land consists of alluvial deposits that have washed down from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. These deposits have spread out in a vast apron of gravel, sand, and just plain dirt that fronts the foothills for more than 200 miles, and which spreads out for many miles to the west. These deposits are not completely level, but mostly have covered any irregularities in the ground so that it appears that the land is quite flat. There is an exception where you stand because a ancient watercourse once flowed here, leaving a ridge of sand that still lingers. It is not especially high, but it is rather noticeable where everything else is so flat. I have personally traced this ridge from Roeding Park to the intersection of Blackstone and Dakota Avenues; thus this ridge runs from the northeast to the southwest for several miles. I have been told that sand deposits were found when the excavation was made for the Savemart Center at Shaw and Chestnut Avenues, so that the deposits continue under the ground for at least a few more miles along the same general line. Note: The above information was provided to me by Craig Poole, a geology instructor at Fresno City College, and Bob Merrill, a retired geology instructor at California State University, Fresno. I have written the information in my own words, and any errors or omissions are strictly my responsibility. The questions I wish you to answer are the following: 1. What is the title and GC code of this cache? 2. How many people are there in your party? (Note: all may claim the find, but I require that each claimant sends in a separate set of answers; it would be nice if not all the answers are exactly the same!) 3. How tall is this enormous ridge where you are standing? In other words, what is the DIFFERENCE in elevation between the top of the ridge where you are and Palm Avenue to the east? (Note, if you have a handheld GPS with an elevation screen, you should be able to calculate the height rather than just make a guess.) 4. Which side of the ridge is the steepest here, east or west? 5. The river actually ran from the northeast to the southwest. Why did it flow in that direction? (Hint: Where are the foothills, and which way does their edge run?) Once again, please make sure that you email your answers within three days of your log entry claiming a find. And please do NOT include your answers in a log entry. I don't expect perfection, and I mostly am asking the last three questions so that you will think about this interesting ridge that I discovered years ago. I used my GPS to determine some initial coordinates and then the website Google Maps to come up with the most accurate coordinates I could. I had a clear view of the 'hiding place' in the satellite photo. If you have any suggestions on improving the description of this hide, including any of the numbers I've used, please let me know, either via a log entry or an email message. Thank you. Congratulations to Mockingbird559 for being the FTF for what I hope will be the first of several earthcaches in the Fresno area!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)