Wasaga Dunes
A
cache
by The Mighty Canadian Juicepig
Hidden:
6/6/2007
Size:
 (Not chosen)
Difficulty: 
Terrain:
(1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)
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This cache will take you over the Wasaga Sand Dunes to a little
known spot - away from the bustle of the Beaches.
Wasaga Beach is the world's largest freshwater beach. Stretching 14
kilometers, The beach can be seen as a barrier island system in
development. One of the main reasons for Wasaga Beaches success as
a Tourist spot is the sandbars in the Nottawasaga Bay. You can walk
out a 500 hundred meters into the water and still find spots that
you can stand on. The Sand in this area is made from grounded Shale
and Limestone, deposited over time by lagoonal and alluvial
(suspended in water) bay deposits.
Unlike Marine coastal barrier beaches, The Wasaga ecosystem does
not need to contend with rising tides and oceanic swells - so the
sand dunes make very well sorted out sand structures, and
subenvironments along the beach. The term for this type of beach is
"Lacustrine" meaning it has formed in sedimentary layers.
Thirteen Thousand years ago, Ice lobes advancing from the Canadian
shield made Till deposits of ground limestone, and Shale. These
Till-fields, formed by Glacial outwash, lay out in the Nottawasaga
Bay, and have spread the sand around the area. Glacial Lake
Algonquin formed when the Ice was retreating, and spread the Till
through the Nottawasaga Valley. As Lake Algonquin retreated, It
exposed Wasaga beach Around 7000 years ago. Dune Formation began
about 3500 years ago as Glacial lake Simcoe was cut out of the
drainage area of the Nottawasaga. Till began flowing back towards
lake Huron, and depositing sand at the mouth of the river, and in
the area of the bay (hence the sandbars that Wasaga Beach is famous
for).
Away from the bustle of the beachfront is the Duneyard. The Sand
from these dunes has been deposited over time by the Nottawasaga
River, and Alluvial (suspended in water) deposits by the bay. As
the water receeded from Glacial Lake Algonquin, wind began forming
the dunes by repeatedly moving sand particles over a slope - making
the dune shape. There are 4 types of Sanddunes represented here:
- Cresent Dunes - Solitary Crescent shaped Dunes, with
horns facing towards the direction of the wind
- Traverse Dunes- Large Crescent Dunes that have combined
to form ridges
- Parabolic Dunes-Dunes anchored by plant life, so that
parts of the dune migrate, while others do not
- Longitudinal Dunes-ridges that run parallel to the
wind
To Log this cache, Take a picture of your self at the area, and
email me the type of dune that the trail passes over to get to this
location (If you are having trouble, see the hint). Feel free to
log a find without receiving an email response - BUT PLEASE POST
YOUR PICTURE IN YOUR LOGS!!!!!
Additional Hints (
Decrypt
)
Decryption Key
A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
(letter above equals below,
and vice versa)
|
Gur Cyndhr ng gur pbbeqvangrf gryyf lbh juvpu glcr bs qhar vg vf
(Decrypted Hints)
Find...
 Formation of a Sanddune
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