Jan. 16, 2008 — Twenty St. Croix residents learned a little about pre-Columbian pottery, ancient sandstone formations, calcium-fixing algae and underwater archeology from Marine Park Ranger John J. Farchette III Thursday morning on a short walking tour of Robin Bay.
A series of tours of parts of the new East End Marine Park on St. Croix is part of public outreach by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources' Division of Coastal Management, letting people know the new park is there and showing off some of its natural and cultural assets.
The group began at the park's headquarters a short way east of Great Pond, on old colonial estate grounds.
"The grounds here by our office have historical sites, including the buildings and ruins you see, and a large pre-Columbian site," Farchette said, pointing out the rough boundaries of the pre-Columbian site.
The small throng formed a 12-car caravan, traveling just a short way up the road before parking atop freshly cut brush on the road's shoulder and walking down to Robin Bay Pond in Mount Fancy. The ancient freshwater pond, lined with black and white mangroves, is a haven for birds and other wildlife.
"We couldn't invent something as effective as the mangroves," he said. "They clean not just sediment but nutrients. Even if the lagoon here died, the mangroves would eventually clarify it."
Wells just inland from the pond provided precious drinking water to early St. Croix residents. While technically freshwater and not seawater, the pond is nonetheless fairly saline and not the best for drinking, he said.
Walking from the pond's edge over to the seashore, Farchette pointed out sandstone outcroppings just under the sea surface. Over huge expanses of geological time, the weight of the fresh water in the pond compressed sand on the pond's bottom, pushing the boundaries outward and forming the sandstone outcroppings, he said.
The Robin Bay area was inhabited for centuries by the pottery-making Saladoid peoples, who migrated here from what is present-day Venezuela. Standing by a natural water gut leading onto the beach, Farchette talked about the waves of early inhabitants.
"Every water gut is a pre-Columbian site," he said. "The earliest sites are dated between 3240 BC and 2500 BC."
Three of the very earliest sites are pre-ceramic and pre-Saladoid paleo-Indian sites, he said.
"That is 5,000 years of habitation, with people coming back and forth from Puerto Rico," he said. Right around Robin Bay, research and archeology have confirmed habitation at least as far back as 50 AD, but some evidence suggests there may have been earlier settlement. The oldest sites are elsewhere on St. Croix.
Looking around briefly at the mouth of the water gut, Farchette reached down and picked up a reddish pottery shard that had been lying in plain sight on the rubble-strewn sand at the edge of the beach.
"This one was missed in the archaeological survey," he said, then described how the pottery was made from rolled coils of clay, mined from the base of short seaside cliffs: "This reddish clay they used was formed by fresh water." The saltwater clay becomes kaliche and is less suitable for ceramics, he explained.
The oldest sites and pottery are under the sea, straight out from where the water guts come to the shore. About 5,000 years ago, the shoreline moved.
The park, established in January 2003, encompasses approximately 60 square miles. The park protects and manages the natural and cultural resources of the eastern end of St. Croix. The shoreline of the park is approximately 17 miles long and extends from the high-tide line to three miles out.
It's a multi-use park with four managed areas in its boundaries. There are the recreation areas where people can snorkel, dive, catch-and-release fish and gather bait fish with cast nets. It is a turtle wildlife preserve with protected nesting beaches. But in 80 percent of the park, the only restriction is that you cannot remove coral.
Two more tours are scheduled this month, and a guided snorkel excursion to Rod Bay and Grassy Pond is set to leave at 9 a.m. Friday from the park office. Space is limited. Call 773-3367 for reservations. More information on the park can be found on its website.
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