I Dont Get It

[twelve]

im 12... i dont under stand what these are. .can someone please explain things a little easier for m e to understand

[TUPPERHUNTER]

Hay i am only 15 and i found out about them from an earth science teacher. What they are it survey controls at the national level. there are ones that tell you your exact elevation ore your horozontal location. Plus they are all over the place. there is probibly one withen a mile of your house where ever you live. One thing to be aware of is that all of the marks you see might not bge in the national database.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Surveyors placed these disks (usually they are disks) as reference points, like marking an X on a map. So they can then go back to this known position/place & locate new positions/places.

 

This is how property lines were established at the beginning of this country, traveling on foot or horseback, where no roads even existed yet.

 

Now they can be used for all types of suveying jobs.

 

I am sure some of the suveyors who read & post to this forum can give you all of the info you might ever want & then some.

 

Welcome to the fun & interesting world of benchmark hunting!

 

Shirley & John

[+BlueDeuce]

im 12... i dont under stand what these are. .can someone please explain things a little easier for m e to understand

Have you checked for Benchmarks near your cache hides?

[+Black Dog Trackers]

twelve -

 

It takes a lot of calculations and measurements for people to figure out the exact longitude and latitude coordinate numbers of a particular point on the ground. It takes so much work that people make a brass and cement permanent marker there so they won't have to do it again anywhere around there.

 

Without having to do all those calculations all over again, surveyors can survey from the nearest one of these benchmarks to a place where something is going to be built, like a house, or railroad, or gas station, of underground water line, or church, or school, or office building. Before anything is built, people need to be sure that it is built in exactly the right place on Earth. These benchmarks help people know exactly where to build things.

 

If a benchmark is permanently lost or destroyed, surveyors will have to go farther to look for the nearest one and spend more time and money surveying from it to the place where something is going to be built. So, it is important to keep finding them to make sure they don't get lost or forgotten. This saves people money.

 

An example of longitude and latitude coordinate numbers is latitude North 45.000 and longitude West 123.000 which is a spot in the suburbs of Salem, Oregon and nowhere else on Earth.

[+Renegade Knight]

They also double as intern torture devices. A crotchety old surveyor will take you out to a benchmark and hand you a shovel and say, You know there is a benchmark around here somewhere and I think it's over here. Why don't you dig till you find it. Later on I'll check on your work...

 

Later on they do. They bring the metal detector and find it 50' over. Having seen their magical honing instincts when we were truly busy at work I know they didn't miss by that much on accident. But hey, at least it was hot and greuling.

[+raouljan]

And......

 

Some have major historic value and some are located in very interesting places!

For example, there is one on top of Pikes Peak (Colorado) and on top of most of the 14,000+ peaks.....

 

Some have cool names, like "VORTEX" in Sedona (Az).

 

Most (however) are in rather mundane places ... but it is still a good game of "hide and seek", and in some cases you find one that has not been found in decades and you get to update the USGS database (and your name will live forever).

[+BilboB]

I tried looking for the one on Pikes Peak. Can you give me the PID? I leave for Colorado Springs on Friday. Thanks.

[+raouljan]

Check....

http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=JK1245

http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=JK1247

[mloser]

BilboB,

Try looking for the two reference marks too. Looking at those two stations I see a disparity of opinion about whether the reference mark is there or not (and to be honest, it drives me nuts that people find a triangulation disk and not the reference marks! ) There are two reference marks there, RM3 and what is called RM4 but is actually an USGS disk that is aluminum. Your best way to find them would be to measure the distance and direction indication on the sheet for the main triangulation station. Then you can be sure if they are there or not.

 

Matt

[+Black Dog Trackers]

BilboB -

 

For finding some benchmarks to look for while traveling, try these methods:

 

1. This site will give you coordinates of various things like high elevation places. Try entering Colorado and 14000 and 25000 for the Elevation Range. Put the latitude and longitude in the geocaching search page after you click on: "Other search options".

 

2. This site can be used to look up a city or town and get its zip code. Then enter the zip code (postal code) in the benchmark search (FAQ) page.

 

3. Use a geocaching map page like this one that I got when I got the benchmark page for HV0001. When you get a map, zoom out and begin traveling N, S, E, or W to get to an area you're traveling to. Then zoom in close, then pick Identify, click on a nearby geocache's page, and then click on Nearest Benchmarks. (Note: you can also fiddle with the coordinates in this URL to put in different Lat-Lon coordinates to get a map in a different place.)