Luray Artesian Well EarthCache
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This well is located in the little town of Luray, blink and you might miss it!
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater that will flow upwards out of a well without the need for pumping. An aquifer provides the water for an artesian well. An aquifer is a layer of soft rock, like limestone or sandstone, that absorbs water from an inlet path. Porous stone is crushed between impermeable rocks or clay. This keeps the pressure high, so when the water finds a hole, it defies gravity and goes up instead of down.
Artesian wells were named after the former province of Artois in France, where many artesian wells were drilled by Carthusian monks since 1126. The technique was also known much earlier in Syria and Egypt, although whether the monks of Artois learned of it from outside sources, or discovered it independently, is unknown.
In recharging aquifers, this happens because the water table at its recharge zone is at a higher elevation than the head of the well. An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater that will flow upwards out of a well without the need for pumping. An aquifer provides the water for a artesian well. An aquifer is a layer of soft rock, like limestone or sandstone, that absorbs water from an inlet path. Porous stone is crushed between impermeable rocks or clay. This keeps the pressure high, so when the water finds a hole, it defies gravity and goes up instead of down.
This well is located about a 1/4 mile from a fork of the South Forked Deer River and some of its swamp areas. This aquifer, that supplies this well, is very much deeper than the surrounding water supplies, thus recharging the aquifer and ensuring many more years of enjoyment of the well.
Artesian well water has for many years been thought to aid in the healing of many ailments. Many of such are: headaches, muscle aches, to just plan old aches and pains. This is not a medical observation, but to many, just a "heard about it thing".
Here's a little experiment to show you how artesian pressure works. Fill a plastic baggie with water, put a straw in through the opening, tape the opening around the straw closed, then squeeze the baggie. Artesian water is pushed out through the straw.
In order to log this cache you need to do the following:
1. Picture of you with your GPS at the well.
2. Estimate how deep the water table is in the area.
**To do that, you need to find the elevation at the nearest open water and the elevation at the artesian well and compare the two.
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