Tuscawilla Preserve Earthcache EarthCache
jjt002: The information sign at this preserve has changed. The information that was previously required to complete this earthcache is no longer there and I am archiving the listing.
Tuscawilla Preserve Earthcache
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
The Tuscawilla Preserve is a more than 600 acre basin marsh located just outside of Micanopy Florida and more than 500 acres have been purchased and are protected by the Alachua Conservation Trust. The area contained in the preserve is sometimes referred to as Lake Tuscawilla and sometimes as the Tuscawilla Prairie, however the area is actually a basin marsh, found in the Southeast United States.
Basin marsh occurs in a variety of isolated or mostly isolated depressions. They occur around fluctuating shorelines of lakes, on the former lake bottoms of “disappearing” lakes, at the head of broad, low basins which were former embayments of the sea during times of higher sea level, and as large deep inclusions within pyrogenic upland communities, or as inclusions in non-pyrogenic communities such as hardwood forests or basin swamps. They are regularly inundated with water originating from localized rainfall. While water is generally not flowing, some basin marshes have outflow, particularly where large marsh systems form the headwaters of rivers, such as the St. Johns. Basin marsh may occur on either sand or peat soils. Common soil series include Ledwith-Wauberg, Wabasso, and Riviera.
Unlike depression marsh, a basin marsh is not a small or shallow inclusion in a pyrogenic community, but is either a large landscape feature or an inclusion in an infrequently burned community. It is distinguished from floodplain marsh by its occurrence in a headwaters basin or adjacent depression rather than along a river floodplain subject to periodic flooding from the river drainage, and is distinguished from basin and dome swamps by the dominance of herbaceous and shrubby species, rather than trees. It is distinguished from slough marsh by the absence of periodic directional water flow and from glades marsh by the absence of flow, as well as its position outside of the Everglades basin.
The area is also home to many bird species and a stop for many other migrating birds. Some of the species that can be seen here include hawks, owls, eagles, sandhil cranes, redwing blackbirds and many others.
To claim credit for this cache, read the signs that are at the posted coordinates, walk on the path to look out at the marsh and send an email with the answers to the following questions.
1) What are the differences between swamps and marshes as listed on the sign including the types of trees listed for swamps?
2) What are the different vegetation found here during dry and wet years and based on the plants currently in the marsh, do you think it has been a dry or wet year?
3) What differences in the underlying limestone do you think exist at this location compared to other basin locations that remain water-filled lakes, such as nearby Lake Wauberg, that demonstrate minor differences in the karst topography (caused by the dissolution of the limestone) in the area? Would you expect there to be more or less caverns and caves underground here compared to lakes that remain water-filled? Which areas would be more impacted by water harvesting (wells) or droughts?
Please do not post your answers in your log.
Although it is not required, any photos of you in the preserve or of wildlife you encounter would be appreciated.
Take some time to walk out and view some of the basin which is a short walk from the posted coordinates. As with all wilderness areas in the area, please be aware of potentially dangerous wildlife as there are a couple species of poisonous snakes in the area. Please also bring water if you plan to be out walking for any length of time as there is not any available at the site.
Much of the information contained in this description was taken from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory document on basin marshes.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures