Springing Forth On Old Whitetop EarthCache
Springing Forth On Old Whitetop
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Directions: US 58 from Damascus to the Whitetop Post
office, turn left on VA 600, head north for 1.5 miles, turn left on
USFS-89. Follow USFS-89 for about three miles to the Spring.
Parking is just across from the Spring.
The quality of the water in the local ground-water system
will generally determine the quality of spring water. The quality
of water discharged by springs can vary greatly because of factors
such as the quality of the water that recharges the aquifer and the
type of rocks with which the ground water is in contact. Human
activity greatly controls the quality of the groundwater. Farming,
pollution of many varieties is among the worst factors impacting
quality. The rate of flow and the length of the flow path through
the aquifer affects the amount of time the water is in contact with
the rock, and thus, the amount of minerals that the water can
dissolve. The quality of the water also can be affected by the
mixing of freshwater with pockets of ancient seawater in the
aquifer or with modern seawater along an ocean coast. Little to no
human activity on Whitetop Mountain affects the quality of the
groundwater. I have personally drank from the Spring several
times but as with anything in nature, I cannot guarantee the
purity!
How Springs Are
Formed
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. The Whitetop Spring is
almost at the very top of the Mountain which makes it a
little unusual. Water issuing from an artesian spring rises to a
higher elevation than the top of the confined aquifer from which it
issues. A spring is the result of an aquifer being filled to the
point that the water overflows onto the land surface. They range in
size from intermittent seeps, which flow only after much rain, to
huge pools flowing hundreds of millions of gallons daily. Springs
are not limited to the Earth's surface, though. Recently,
scientists have discovered hot springs at depths of up to 2.5
kilometers in the oceans, generally along mid-ocean rifts
(spreading ridges). The hot water (over 300 degrees Celsius) coming
from these springs is also rich in minerals and sulfur, which
results in a unique ecosystem where unusual and exotic sea life
seems to thrive.
A spring may be formed in any sort of rock. Small ones are
found in many places. The largest springs are generally formed in
limestone and dolomite in karst type topography, but Whitetop isn’t
limestone nor is it dolomite and it isn’t a karst topography. It is
primarily rhyolite with a gneiss basement. Both dolomite and
limestone fracture relatively easily. Rhyolite doesn’t fracture so
easily but it does fracture. The amount of water that flows from
springs depends on many factors, including the size of the
fractures, crevices or caverns within the rocks, the water pressure
in the aquifer, the size of the spring basin, and the amount of
rainfall. If the groundwater is under sufficient pressure, the
spring (or a well) might shoot water into the air-artesian well or
spring. Human activities also can influence the volume of water
that discharges from a spring—groundwater withdrawals in an area
can reduce the amount of water and the pressure in an aquifer,
causing water levels in the aquifer system to drop and ultimately
decreasing the flow from the spring. Well (pardon the pun), on
Whitetop Mountain, human activity doesn’t play into the equation
therefore; it is strictly nature’s show.
Springing Forth
NOTE: In order to claim a find for Whitetop’s
Spring, you must do three things: 1. Post a picture of
yourself and your GPS with the Spring in the background or if you
are camera shy, show your GPSr and the Spring and 2. take a
container with a known volume (small) and measure the
gallons-per-minute flow of the spring and 3. what is the
elevation of the Spring? Email me the answers for nos. 2 &
3.
This Earthcache was approved by the
Geological Society of America
| We have earned GSA's highest
level: |
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Chg n Fcevat va lbhe fgrc!