Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called geocaches or caches, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world. The first geocache was placed in 2000, and by 2023 there were over 3 million active caches worldwide.
"Original Can of Beans" at the 2012 Geocoinfest Mega Event in Colorado
A classic geocache – trade items in a military ammunition box
Contents of a Geocache
Called GeoArt, these geocaches are placed to form a picture of the Space Shuttle lying on the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Benchmarking, also known as benchmark hunting, is a hobby activity in which participants find benchmarks. The term "benchmark" is used only to refer to survey markers that designate a certain elevation, but hobbyists often use the term benchmarks to include triangulation stations or other reference marks. Like geocaching, the activity has become popular since 1995, propelled by the availability of online data on the location of survey marks and by the rise of hobbyist-oriented websites.
A person taking a photo of a located benchmark
A typical USCGS Benchmark
Typical metal rod or stake benchmark, in Texas
Benchmark in Saint Goussaud, Limousin, France
