UNOFFICIAL EARTHCACHE BANNER
HOW DOES THIS THING OUT HERE WORK??
You may have heard of an Artesian Well before but never saw one or know how they work. This EarthCache will not only show you one, it will allow you to drink or bathe from one if you wish. When I placed it some local people came to fill containers. They told me that many people have been getting water here since at least 1936 and that the water only stopped flowing twice.
I've known about this location since I was a child and wondered about how this water seemed to defy gravity and if someone turned it off at night. I always watched for this place when driving past to see if it was still flowing, and I still do. You can drive right up to this EarthCache, and if anyone else stops you can just start a conversation, ask them if they know how it works or if the water is safe to drink. I hope you and your children will find it interesting and educational, and if you've never tasted good well water you'll try it out. I did, and I'm creating this page, so it must be safe. Please mention in your log if you tried it or not and give your taste testing opinion.
To log this EarthCache you must either measure the output of the well in gallons per minute (gpm) or take the temperature of the water (F), or do both, and send the results to me by email. The easiest way to determine the output is to bring a 1 gallon container (a milk container works well) and, using your watch, time how long in seconds it takes to fill, estimating a little if you have to allow for spillage. Then determine the number of gallons being produced in a minute. Example: It takes 15 seconds to fill the one gallon container. There are 60 seconds in a minute so by performing simple math it is determined that the output of the well is 4 gallons per minute.
You are more than welcome to post pictures of your visit.
ARTESIAN WELL [artesian well] deep drilled well through which water is forced upward under pressure. The water in an artesian well flows from an aquifer, which is a layer of very porous rock or sediment, usually sandstone, capable of holding and transmitting large quantities of water. The geologic conditions necessary for an artesian well are an inclined aquifer sandwiched between impervious rock layers above and below that trap water in it. Water enters the exposed edge of the aquifer at a high elevation and percolates downward through interconnected pore spaces. The water held in these spaces is under pressure because of the weight of water in the portion of the aquifer above it. If a well is drilled from the land surface through the overlying impervious layer into the aquifer, this pressure will cause the water to rise in the well. In areas where the slope of the aquifer is great enough, pressure will drive the water above ground level in a spectacular, permanent fountain. Artesian springs can occur in similar fashion where faults or cracks in the overlying impervious layer allow water to flow upward. Water from an artesian well or spring is usually cold and free of organic contaminants, making it desirable for drinking. In North America, the Dakota sandstone provides aquifers for an artesian system that underlies parts of the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, and Saskatchewan and supplies great quantities of water to the dry Great Plains region. Many East Coast cities derive their water supplies from aquifers that are exposed along the edge of the Piedmont and dip downward toward the Atlantic coast. The largest artesian system in the world underlies nearly all of E and S Australia. Other important artesian systems serve London, Paris, and E Algeria.
Author not available, ARTESIAN WELL., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2006