Geocaching.com Presents – EarthCaches

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EarthCaches draw geocachers to wonders of the natural world – often hiding in plain sight. Gary Lewis, Geoaware, and the Director of Education for the Geological Society of America created of the very first Earthcache in 2004.

Mt. Yasur on the island of Tanna

An EarthCache delivers adventurers to a location found at specific coordinates. But rather than discovering a container and signing a logbook you earn a smiley by undertaking an educational task and learning about the natural environment.

Watch this video to go along with Terry Baker,  TerryDad2, who has set up more than 250 EarthCaches in six states and two countries. TerryDad2 takes you on a tour of West Sulphur Mountain Oil Spring (GC1A5E2) in Ojai, California, where oil is naturally seeping from the ground.

TerryDad2 exploring an EarthCache

EarthCaches started with one in Australia and three in the U.S. state of Colorado in 2004 and now there are over 11,000 published EarthCaches. There is at least one on every continent.

Examples of educational tasks are answering questions about the site: how far something has eroded down, the size of a waterfall, or, in the case of the Oil Spring, the affect the oil has on the adjacent plant life.

Have you found an EarthCache? Tell us your favorite EarthCaching experience.

Near EarthCache in the Valley of Fire, Nevada