A spring is a place where groundwater flows to the surface and
issues freely from the ground; springs are an integral part of the
water cycle.
This diagram depicts the water cycle applied to the Bow River
Basin.
A spring is a water resource formed when the side of a hill, a
valley bottom or other excavation intersects a flowing body of
ground water at or below the local water table, below which the
subsurface material is saturated with water. A spring is the result
of an aquifer being filled to the point that the water overflows
onto the land surface.
Springs range in size from intermittent seeps, which flow only
after much rain, to huge pools flowing hundreds of millions of
gallons daily. The amount of water that flows from a spring depends
on many factors, including the size of the caverns within the
rocks, the water pressure in the aquifer, the size of the spring
basin, and the amount of rainfall. Human activities also can
influence the volume of water that discharges from a
spring—ground-water withdrawals in an area can reduce the pressure
in an aquifer, causing water levels in the aquifer system to drop
and ultimately decreasing the flow from the spring.
Over the past several centuries, Nose Hill Spring was an
important source of water for natives, fur traders, explorers,
early European settlers, ranchers, farmers and homesteaders. In
1966 it became part of the Huntington Hills district of
Calgary.
To claim your find, please e-mail your answers to the following
questions to the cache owner. You may click here to send your
e-mail.
- As proof of visit, send the date on which David Thompson
visited this location. You will find this information on the
dedication plaque located near the outlet for the spring.
- Estimate the distance over which the spring is flowing above
ground (i.e. the distance from the spring outlet to where the water
sinks back under ground level).
- From the table below, estimate the magnitude at which the
spring is flowing. There is no real way to capture the water and
measure it directly so make your best guess.
| Magnitude |
Flow (L/s) |
Flow (ft3/s, gal/min, pint/min) |
| 1st Magnitude |
2800 L/s |
> 100 ft3/s |
|
| 2nd Magnitude |
280 to 2800 L/s |
10 to 100 ft3/s |
| 3rd Magnitude |
28 to 280 L/s |
1 to 10 ft3/s |
| 4th Magnitude |
6.3 to 28 L/s |
100 US gal/min to 1 ft3/s (448 US gal/min) |
| 5th Magnitude |
0.63 to 6.3 L/s |
10 to 100 US gal/min |
| 6th Magnitude |
63 to 630 mL/s |
1 to 10 US gal/min |
| 7th Magnitude |
8 to 63 mL/s |
1 pint to 1 US gal/min |
| 8th Magnitude |
8 mL/s |
< 1 pint/min |
| 0 Magnitude |
no flow (site of past/historic flow> |
none |
In your online log, feel free to describe your visit to Nose
Hill Spring and to upload your best digital photo(s) from your
visit but please ensure any photos do NOT show the details
necessary to log this cache.
SOURCES: Information plaque at Nose Hill Spring; USGS “The Water
Cycle” on the internet here; Natural
Resources Canada “Bow River Waterscape” on the internet here.