Laguna Madre - Saltier than the Ocean EarthCache
Laguna Madre - Saltier than the Ocean
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The Laguna Madre (Spanish for "Mother Lagoon") is one of the most
overlooked natural wonders in North America and is usually much
saltier than the ocean, due to being nearly landlocked in a
semiarid environment. It is one of only six hypersaline lagoons in
the world. Its salinity generally increases from south to north,
with distance from its major inlet near Port Isabel. It is a long,
shallow bay-130 miles the length of Padre Island in the United
States and Mexico.
Its biological corridor, though, extends well into Mexico, to the
mouth of the Río Soto la Marina in the state of Tamaulipas. In the
United States, Laguna Madre is separated from the Gulf of Mexico on
the east by Padre Island, and bounded on the west by mainland
Texas, and extends from Corpus Christi in the north to Port Isabel
in the south. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway runs through the
length of the Laguna Madre in the United States. It covers 609
square miles of estuarine and coastal marine systems. The submerged
land, marshes, spoil islands, variable salinity and depths,
including the variety of seagrass, make the Laguna Madre a unique
natural community. It is one of the most important wildlife refuges
on the U.S. coast, as home to many species of fish, migratory
birds, sea turtles, and even wildcats. It accounts for almost 80%
of Texas seagrass beds which provide the main winter food and
feeding grounds for the winter duck populations and the summer
nursery area for young brown shrimp. Skipjacks, pinfish, broad
killifish and striped mullet forage in the shoalgrass areas.
Mollusks and crustaceans, generally associated with the areas of
underwater vegetation, are important as waterfowl food.
Little and Big Shell Beaches are located near the (27 degree N.
latitude) convergence point. This convergence point is where long
shore currents moving north to south and currents moving south to
north meet. Because the currents converge at this point, a good
number of large, as well as small shells are deposited on the
beach. Winds blow away the sand, leaving the exposed shells behind.
The sand is then accumulated in dunes which may become stabilized
by vegetation or are driven into the Laguna Madre.
On North Padre Island, Gulf waves break on the upper shore
especially during fall and winter. They agitate the water and
suspend sand so that they erode and destroy, or deposit and
construct as applicable. Flat waves and smooth, round, symmetrical
waves transport sand to the beach. Steeper waves remove sand. Swash
bars and berms are beach deposits formed as a result of this wave
action. The Gulf beach is a complex environment where water and air
interact and compete for sediments. These sediments are deposited
high on the beach are dried and transported landward by persistent
onshore winds. This migrating sand is trapped along the back edge
of the beach by salt-tolerant grasses and flowering plants.
The park has a Grasslands Nature Trail, a 3/4-mile loop trail,
which winds through a grasslands-and-dunes area. Please stay on the
path as hiking across the dunes is discouraged. Beach hiking can be
slow going but rewarding, especially if you like bird watching or
beachcombing. Low tide and after a storm are the best beachcombing
times. Plants stabilize the sand with roots and spreading vines,
forming a relatively continuous dune ridge. The fore-island dune
ridge traps additional sand and prevents it from migrating back to
the sea. Storms and high tides cut into these dunes, abruptly
changing the contours of the island.
Kemp’s Ridley turtle nests have been found on North Padre Island
National Seashore. Wildlife officials released 10,594 Ridley
hatchlings along the Texas coast in 2008. The turtles are
endangered due to shrimpers' nets. The National Seashore is also
one of the few places the public can go to see sea turtle
hatchlings being released into the wild. Today, the National Park
Service locates, studies, and protects nesting Kemp’s Ridley
turtles and their eggs. The National Park Service maintains the
records of the sea turtle nests found in Texas and collaborates
with and provides technical assistance to other entities leading
nest detection programs elsewhere in Texas. Eggs found on North
Padre Island and northward along the Texas coast are transported to
the National Seashore's incubation facility for protected care.
Left unprotected on the beach the eggs and hatchlings can fall
victim to a variety of human-related and natural threats. When
patrollers locate a track site where a nesting female emerged on
the beach, but biologist are unsuccessful at finding the nest after
hours of searching, a trained Kemp's Ridley nest collector dog is
often brought to the site.
If the orange and black sign is flying be sure to watch for any
signs of the kemp turtles while walking along the beach. Please
mark any sightings with your GPS and report it to the Visitor
Center. Please post any sightings in your logs for an extra smiley.
We have been asked to help with this by marking and reporting any
sites we might find while at the beach and to notify a park ranger
where it is located. Please get a GPS reading of its location and
give this information to a park ranger if one is nearby or take
this information to the Visitor’s Center so they can protect the
turtles. Please try and mark the area if possible to aid in their
locating the nests and to prevent others from harming them. For
further information, please check out the following website:
http://www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/kridley.htm.
There are two locations within the National Park for the general
public to access the Laguna Madre: at Bird Island Basin and at
Yarborough Pass. Camping along the Laguna Shore outside of these
areas is not allowed and hiking along the Laguna Shore outside of
them is strongly discouraged because of the shoreline’s
environmental sensitivity. Because there is little flow of
sediments along the Laguna shore, damage to the mudflats can last a
long time. Tire tracks and footprints left over twenty years ago
can still be seen in some parts.
The Bird Island Basin area on the Laguna Madre is one of the top
spots in the nation for windsurfing because of its steady wind,
warm water, and shallow depths. They were having windsurfing races
the day we were there. It is located on the Laguna Madre
approximately four miles from the visitor’s center. Usage fee for
Bird Island Basin is $5/day if used for windsurfing or camping but
there should be no additional charge for just completing the
requirements for the earthcache. This is covered in your entrance
fee.
For more information on the park, check out the Padre Island
National Seashore Home Pge.
://www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/kridley.htm .
Fees- Padre Island National Seashore entrance station $10 – go to
the Visitor Center where you can tour the exhibits and learn more
about the area from informative deck talks given by the rangers as
well as have access to the Gulf of Mexico beaches.
The Visitor Center has two wheelchairs designed for use on loose
sand available for loan at no charge. Users must leave a driver's
license or their personal wheelchair at the information desk while
the beach wheelchairs are on loan.
We would like to give our appreciation to the Park Rangers at
Padre Island National Seashore for their help with this earthcache
and for permit # IMR-SO-PAIS 2501-08-016. Please remember to report
to the rangers or visitor center any turtle nests or hatchlings
that you may see and to protect and mark their locations with your
GPS .
Another helpful suggestion is for you to carry gloves and a trash
bag with you on your visit and to help pick up any debris
cluttering the island. Leave nothing behind but wonderful memories
of your trip here. This truly is one of our national treasures!!!
We hope you have enjoyed your trip to the National Seashore and
have learned more about this rare water and beach area.
To receive credit for this earthcache, please complete the
following requirements and respond to me by email and please do not
post the answers:
1. What makes the Laguna Madre so unique? .
2. Go to the posted coordinates for the informative sign located
at the access to Laguna Madre and Bird Island Basin. What are the
four species indicated on the informative sign that can be found in
the Laguna Madre?
3. Post picture of you near the Laguna Madre shore (N27 27.984
W097 18.835) with Bird Island in the background along with your
GPS.
4. What was the wind speed on the day you visited the Visitors
Center? This is posted at the Center on their deck area where the
informative talks are given and also inside the museum area. There
is also sand located in a box on the deck that is for handling and
showing items that were found on their beaches? What did you find
or see in this exhibit?
5. Were you able to participate in any turtle sightings or
releases? If so please report what you found and post pictures to
share with others.
This is not a requirement but would like to know if you used it
while there. An audio tour is now available at Padre Island
National Seashore where you can access information about designated
sites from your cell phone. There is a number listed on the tall
information sign located at Bird Island Basin (N 27 27.981 W097
18.786) near the smaller sign that you were given the listed
coordinates to answer question #2. This is also location #2 on
their audio cell phone tour. There is no cell phone usage fee for
this but your charge would depend on your calling plan. What is
this number posted and did you use it or find it helpful during
your self-guided tour of the National Seashore Park?
Developed by A Platinum EarthCache Master
CONGRATULATIONS TO Daneill FOR FIRST TO FIND!!!
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