Answer Key:

1. The Lenape Indians discovered them growing along streams and in marshes and bogs of New Jersey's Pinelands.

2. Cohansey Aquifer

3. The Cohansey Aquifer is a layer of predominantly sand and gravel beneath the earth's surface that has pore spaces filled with water.

4. Most of the water in this aquifer is the result of precipitation (rain and/or melted snow) that percolates through the sandy soil and fills the pore spaces between the particles of sand and gravel.

5. About 45-inches of rain falls on New Jersey's Pinelands each year.

6. No, they are man-made lakes.

7. There are no naturally formed lakes in the Pinelands

8. Cranberry growers need an abundant source of pure water for (1) frost protection, (2) fire protection, (3) harvesting, (4) sprinkler irrigation to prevent scalding, and (5) pest control.

9. Bogs are called natural "frost pockets" because they are low lying and on cold windless nights the heavier cold air "sinks" often lowering bog temperatures 10 to 12 degrees below surrounding uplands (lands at a higher elevation). Because of this, bog temperatures may drop below freezing.

10. Ground water, with-an approximate temperature of 54 degrees F, is 22 degrees above freezing. As it is sprayed over the crop, it warms the air and prevents the blossoms and/or berries from freezing.

11. "Headland" is another name for forests that may include wetlands. Farmers value it because the forest floor acts like a sponge. It absorbs precipitation and allows it to percolate down into the Cohansey Aquifer, a vast natural storage area for underground water. About 10 acres of headland are needed to supply water for every acre of cultivated cranberry bog.

12. I'd turn on the well pump and start the sprinkler irrigation. Once again the groundwater is about 54 degrees F; however, this time it is about 41 degrees lower than the temperature reading on the bogs and it will cool the vines and berries and prevent scald.

13. This "natural force" is gravity.

14. Using dams, canals, and ditches, you first direct this surface water to the bogs at the highest elevations. Gravity causes water to flow downhill; so, once the bogs at higher elevations are harvested, the water is easily directed "downhill" to bogs at lower elevations.

15. Researchers think good cranberry varieties should ripen (turn red) early, be larger and less tart than an older variety like Early Black, and be disease resistant.

16. The earlier the berries turn a vivid cranberry red, the sooner the harvest can begin. The sooner harvest begins, the less chance there will be for late fall frost damage to,the crop.

17. Like the sieve demonstration, the amount of water in the reservoir is directly dependent on the neighboring ground water in the reservoir.

18. New Jersey's commercial cranberry growing began in the mid-nineteenth century.

19. New Jersey ranks third in cranberry production after Massachusetts and Wisconsin.

20. It may be channeled back into the canals and flow to the rivers; it may percolate back through the sandy soil into the aquifer; some may evaporate and, as part of the hydrologic cycle, return to the earth as precipitation.

Bonus Question: Cranberry bogs and reservoirs provide food and homes for many animals including hawks, owls, great blue herons, egrets, turtles, snakes, frogs, beavers, otters, muskrats, and honeybees.