WI River Outings

From geography to earth science there are lots of ways to bring Social Sciences into a canoe trip.

Pre Trip

• Learn some of the unique aspects of hydrology and the water cycle.

• Research the history and forming of the Wisconsin River

• Discuss the flood cycle and why its important to the ecology of the river.

• Discuss the historical economic uses of rivers and what affect they have today.

• The name of the area the Lower Wisconsin River flows through is the Driftless Region, what does this refer to and prior to arriving what will it look like?

 

During the Trip

• Note how the river flows and its physical charateristics to include its unique sand bars.

• Discuss some of the tips and tricks of navigating the river by canoe/kayak.

• Using GPS, map portions of the river and provide coordinates for unique features you find and post on a geocaching website.

• If you have access to GPS units, visit geocaching sites for Wisconsin and find some of the treasure along the river or set up new caches.

Post Trip

• Looking at a map, what other rivers did your school cross on the way to and from your canoe trip?  Do some research, how do you think these rivers differ from the Wisconsin River?  How many might make a good river to do a canoe trip on?  How many days long could the trips be?

• What do you recall as the most surprising physical feature of the river?  Why did it catch your attention?

• What was your impression of the Driftless Area?  Write a letter to a friend explaining what the physical features of the area are like.