Click on the image to reveal Vanessa's hidden treasure.
See it? This treasure was hidden beneath a pile of desert rocks!
Vanessa found the cache with the help of her GPS. The GPS will only take you close to the treasure. Finding it is up to you. Treasures are usually hidden in such a way that most people would never know they are there.
Vanessa's GPS took her to a small hill near her house in Phoenix.
To a regular hiker, everything looks normal. But Vanessa knew there was something else nearby!
Close There's a hidden treasure in your neighborhood. Actually, there's probably more than one:
- Within five miles of Caroline's house in Lakeville, Minnesota, there are 91 of them;
- Three miles from James' house in Madison, Wisconsin there are 30;
- Vanessa in Phoenix, Arizona has 18 treasures hidden less than two miles away;
- And the president of the United States has 40 …just one mile away from the White House!
Where did these treasures come from? It's not the work of pirates or secret agents.
The treasures are hidden by regular people playing a fun game called geocaching.Geocaching—The Game and The WordIn this game, people hide something and posts clues on the Internet showing you how to find them.
You read the clues and go on a search for the hidden treasure. If you find it, you let the person who hid the item know. Then you try to find another!
The first part of the word 'geocache' is short for 'geography.' The second part, 'cache,' is pronounced like the word 'cash'. It means a 'secure place of storage.'
We call them 'treasures' but geocachers call their hidden items 'caches.'
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The coordinates
Any geocaching treasure can be found if you have the coordinates:
- A north/south measurement called a latitude;
- An east/west measurement called a longitude.
The treasure is hidden where the latitude and longitude cross each other.
When Do They Cross?You know where the coordinates cross with the help of a global positioning system (GPS). It uses satellites to find any location on Earth.
When you enter the correct coordinates in a GPS, it will count down from miles, to tenths of a mile, to feet. When you get closer than a foot from the treasure, you're on your own!
The GPS is about the size of a cell phone, and is easy to carry.
A handheld GPS can cost anywhere from $150 to $750.
You can rent them, but you'll probably save more in the long run if you purchase one.
The less-expensive models work just fine for geocaching.
Close The treasure
This hidden treasure was found deep in the woods in an old tree.
Hidden TreasureThe crow wasn't real—it was made of plastic. Attached to the bird was a container. Inside that container…treasure!
Close A treasure container can be as simple as an old peanut butter jar.
Or it might be something tricky—a fake rock, a phony tree branch, a small magnet, or even a member of the animal kingdom!
The treasure chest that holds your hidden cache can be any shape or size.
How Big?The treasure chest can be as big as a bucket or as small as your pinky-toe!
The person who hides the treasure will usually tell you what you're looking for. A treasure will be labeled large, medium, small, or micro.
If they want to keep the size a secret, the treasure size will be listed as 'unknown'.
Close If you're looking for millions of dollars, gold coins or expensive jewels, you might be disappointed. Just about every container will hold a logbook. This little notebook gives you the chance to record your visit.
Write down your nickname and when you found the treasure. That's proof that you found it!
Other items in a treasure container can be anything and everything. Larger containers will usually have small toys or other trinkets...
Small Toys One special kind of treasure is called a 'travel bug.' A travel bug is supposed to be moved from one container to another, and often will travel around the world!
For Tommy, finding the trinket is the best part of geocaching. “I like to find new toys,” he says, “and I like to trade stuff.”
Tommy is speaking about an important rule of geocaching: if you take something from a treasure container, leave something in return.
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