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In an area of Fundy National Park known to locals as "the Bowl," one can see remnants of a period of change in geological history. For located within the Bowl is MacLaren Pond, a kettle pond that is leftover from the last Ice Age.
Fundy National Park lies within the Caledonia Highlands. Previously mountainous, this region was covered in glaciers during the last Ice Age. As the glaciers receded at the end of the Ice Age, sand, gravel and rock were deposited in the valley where the golf course is located and along kame terraces that slope down through this area to the Bay of Fundy; MacLaren Pond is on one of these kame terraces. As part of the recession of the ice cap, MacLaren Pond was formed.
Kettles are fluvioglacial landforms - geological features that have been shaped by receding ice forms. As the ice cap moves away, sometimes parts of the ice are calved off and remain in place. When these ice blocks melt, they leave holes in the landscape that typically fill with water and resemble small ponds. If the kettle is fed by surface or underground rivers or streams, it becomes a kettle lake. If the kettle receives its water from precipitation, the groundwater table or a combination of the two, it is termed a kettle pond. While most kettles are less than 10 m deep, MacLaren Pond is considerably deeper than that - locals refer to MacLaren Pond as "the bottomless pond."
To log this Earthcache, please visit the interpretive panels at the listed coordinates. These panels explain the formation of the kettle in easy to understand cartoons and are accessible to children. Please email the cache owner the answers to the following questions:
- When did the last Ice Age end, leading to the recession of the glaciers that eventually formed this kettle pond?
- How deep is MacLaren Pond?
You will only receive a response if your answers are incorrect.
Pictures are welcome but not necessary. May you enjoy your visit to Fundy National Park.
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