Auroraville Fountain EarthCache

The Auroraville Fountain

"Heading north or south, many travelers and their teams of horses refreshed themselves at this location in the 19th century. Originally, this fountain was built as a wooden trough, but by 1927, it had deteriorated and was replaced with a copper vat from a local burned-out cheese factory. In 1936, the Work Project Administration built the ornate stone enclosure around the copper tank. The Auroraville Fountain, now part of the Waushara County Parks System, remains as it looked in the 1930's, and still stands as a unique stopping place at the center of town."

-Text from the on-site "Wisconsin Official Marker."

To log this cache you will need to take and upload a photo and email me the answers to some questions.

Artesian wells: The get your feet wet version.
At the most basic level an artesian well is a passage which allows water that has traveled through porous rock from a higher elevation, to rise to the surface at a lower elevation. The water is forced up the well seemingly defying gravity due to pressure which builds up between layers of rock.

Artesian wells: The dig deep version.
In the below image you can see two aquifers (A and B). An unconfined aquifer (B) is bound by the water table. In other words an unconfined aquifer has no confining rock layers over the top of it. A well sunk into an unconfined aquifer (3) will encounter water when the well reaches the water table. The water in the well will remain at about the same level as the water table.

A confined aquifer (A) lies beneath layers of impermeable materials. A well sunk into such an aquifer is called an artesian well. The water in an artesian well rises above the confined aquifer because of the hydrostatic pressure caused by the rock. The level to which the water will rise is called the static water level. The top of the artesian well shown above (1) is above the static water level and therefore the water in the artesian well does not naturally reach the surface. The top of the flowing artesian well (2) is lower than the static water level and thus water reaches and flows at the surface. Most flowing artesian wells are located on the side or bottom of hills or in valleys.

Water is just water right?
Why have so many companies promoted their products as being derived from "pure artesian water"? The water from artesian wells tends to be colder as it is typically drawn from greater depths. Water from artesian wells also tends to be cleaner than water from unconfined aquifers as near surface water is more susceptible to contamination than confined aquifers which are generally sealed off from surface contaminants. In fact, water from confined aquifers has normally been in the ground far longer than water found in unconfined aquifers. Confined (artesian) aquifers can be reached by drilling through hard rock, but they also occur naturally as the Earth cracks or shifts.

Geology of the area.
The Auroraville fountain is located in part of Wisconsin's "Central Plains" region. This crescent-shaped belt covers about 13,000 square miles. Most of the Central Plain is floored by Cambrian-age sandstone. In contrast to the many glacial lakes in eastern Wisconsin, there are relatively few lakes in this region. This is mainly because the depressions produced by glacial erosion and drift are sandy-bottomed and do not easily hold water. The ease at which water seeps into the soil here likely adds to the appearance of so many artesian wells in the area.

The terrain around Auroraville is relatively flat, low-lying, lake plain. It was formed by glacial scouring about 12,000 years ago. Approximately 35 percent of the land consists of wetland soils, saturated by surface or ground waters.

Drainage from this area is to the south and east to the Fox River and Lake Poygan. The Fox River Basin is the largest shallow artesian-well area in Wisconsin. Wells within the basin range in depth from 19 to 250 feet, this area includes several hundred square miles surrounding Lake Winnebago and Lake Poygan.

Logging this EarthCache
In order to log this as a find you must meet the following 3 requirements.

2. Email me via my profile: Following what war was this fountain established?

3. Email me via my profile: What is the depth of the water in the trough?

References and permissions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artesian_aquifer
http://pubs.usgs.gov/ha/ha730/ch_j/J-text2.html
http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/PIC/pic23.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_River_(Wisconsin)
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-artesian-well.htm
http://www.wisconsincentral.net/LandCPWaushara.html
http://www.wisconline.com/wisconsin/geoprovinces/centralplain.html
http://chestofbooks.com/reference/Manual-Useful-Information/The-Artesian-Well.html
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=div&did=WI.NHSOILWINNEBAGO1932.I0004&isize=text

The Auroraville Fountain Wayside is managed by the Waushara County Parks Department. Permission has been granted by Scott P. Schuman, Park Superintendent.