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Post by SSO JOAT on May 31, 2010 9:12:08 GMT -9
I've been working around the Yukon River for the last week. It's quite surprising that there is no cache at the river since there is a BLM visitor center with a couple river observation platforms, a state recreation site with boat launch, and a DOT pullout. Even with saturation rules one could fit 3 caches near the Yukon River Bridge. Since I'm well outside of my home turf, I can't place a cache here, but I've been thinking it might be a good Earthcache site.
However I've noticed that while the NorthWes presentation mentioned historic sites and mining as Earthcache topics (which would allow focus on the bridge and pipeline), the official EC website doesn't mention these categories and basically states the cache site must be about Earth science in regards to the formation of the terrain. So by that standard I would have to focus on the Yukon River. But there is nothing really significant about this particular spot on the river except for the bridge and pipe crossing. It's almost a catch-22 as far as cache creation.
Could I make the river the primary focus with a secondary "minor" topic on the history and significance of the bridge & pipeline? I've already gathered coordinates and photos of the area. The land manager is BLM, so I ought to be able to call their office and get the permission easy enough. Any suggestions?
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Post by AKFossil on May 31, 2010 10:06:31 GMT -9
You would think there would be a allowance or something so you could virtualize the Bridge and pipeline since it is a amazing feat of engineering... hmmm
Maybe Wes will pipe in with a good bit of knowledge.
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Post by tzipora on May 31, 2010 22:51:39 GMT -9
I've had fairly good success by emailing the folks in charge of EarthCaches with my questions. While I haven't yet completed development of my first EC, I have talked to geoaware about two different ideas that I had and he was good about getting back to me. I gave him a little bit of information about the site and why I thought it was interesting, and he gave me his comments/concerns. Since then, they've changed the why they implement the program a little bit so I'm not sure if he'll answer your questions directly or if he'll direct you to a "local" reviewer.
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 1, 2010 3:14:08 GMT -9
There are geological/topographical reasons the bridge/pipeline cross the Yukon at that location. Remote gate valve 60 on the north side of the river and check valve 60A on the south side of the river are placed to minimize the amount of oil that would end up in the river if the pipeline/bridge failed at that location. Might ask why a gate valve on one side and a check valve on the other side of the river (again, driven by topography). The old hover craft landing used to transport people, equipment and materials is upstream a ways. The landing was used until the bridge was completed. I can help with specifics for an EC at the location when I return to Alaska late next week. Oh, and geoaware is a "she."
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Post by tzipora on Jun 1, 2010 6:32:12 GMT -9
Oh, and geoaware is a "she." Maybe they've switched folks using that name? There were recent posts referring to the name Gary and the fact that he just became a father again, having met his wife geocaching.
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Post by ladybugkids on Jun 6, 2010 19:47:26 GMT -9
Oh, and geoaware is a "she." Maybe they've switched folks using that name? There were recent posts referring to the name Gary and the fact that he just became a father again, having met his wife geocaching. Sounds like I'm behind the times...Geoaware used to be "Maryanne," I think. Thanks for the update.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Jun 6, 2010 23:27:54 GMT -9
Thanks for the input. I'm going to rough draft something together on this. I'll bounce it off Mike & Wes as well as the geoaware account and we'll see what becomes of it.
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Post by NorthWes on Jun 14, 2010 12:28:55 GMT -9
Thanks for the input. I'm going to rough draft something together on this. I'll bounce it off Mike & Wes as well as the geoaware account and we'll see what becomes of it. Howdy! I'm back instate... So - I'd approach it as Mike (LBK) suggested - what topo / river feature considerations drove the placement of the pipeline crossing to be established 'here'? Require some general knowledge about the Yukon River upstream & downstream, tie in the 'responsible engineering' concept re: gate/check valves (with a learning moment on what each does, and how APSC set up the crossing to mitigate a spill), and tie together how the river/topography developed across geologic time to present a 'best crossing' solution for the pipeline designers/builders at this very location. Sort of how the geology affects the engineering solution... great for simple graphics.
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