A spring may be the result of karst topography where surface water
has infiltrated the Earth's surface, becoming part of the area
groundwater. The groundwater then travels through a network of
cracks and fissures. The water eventually emerges from below the
surface, in the form of a spring.
The forcing of the spring to the surface can be the result of a
confined aquifer in which the recharge area of the spring water
table rests at a higher elevation than that of the outlet. Spring
water forced to the surface by elevated sources are artesian wells.
Non-artesian springs may simply flow from a higher elevation
through the earth to a lower elevation and exit in the form of a
spring, using the ground like a drainage pipe.
Still other springs are the result of pressure from an underground
source in the earth, in the form of volcanic activity. The result
can be water at elevated temperature such as a hot
spring.
The action of the groundwater continually dissolves permeable
bedrock such as limestone and dolmite creating vast cave
systems.
Types of spring outlets
• Seepage or filtration spring. The term seep refers to
springs with small flow rates in which the source water has
filtered into permeable earth.
• Fracture springs, discharge from faults, joints, or fissures
in the earth, in which springs have followed a natural course of
voids or weaknesses in the bedrock.
• Tubular springs are essentially water dissolved and create
underground channels, basically cave systems.
|
Magnitude
|
(ft³/s, gal/min,
pint/min)
|
Flow
(L/s)
|
|
1st Magnitude
|
> 100 ft³/s
|
2800 L/s
|
|
2nd Magnitude
|
10 to 100 ft³/s
|
280 to 2800 L/s
|
|
3rd Magnitude
|
1 to 10 ft³/s
|
28 to 280 L/s
|
|
4th Magnitude
|
100 US gal/min to 1 ft³/s (448 US
gal/min)
|
6.3 to 28 L/s
|
|
5th Magnitude
|
10 to 100 gal/min
|
0.63 to 6.3 L/s
|
|
6th Magnitude
|
1 to 10 gal/min
|
63 to 630 mL/s
|
|
7th Magnitude
|
1 pint to 1 gal/min
|
8 to 63 mL/s
|
|
8th Magnitude
|
Less than 1 pint/min
|
8 mL/s
|
|
0 Magnitude
|
no flow (sites of past/historic flow)
|
|
To log this earthcache send me a message answering the following
questions:
1.) Take a picture of the spring with you and your GPS in the
picture and post it.
2.) What is the elevation at the springs?
3.) Using the chart above describing the magnitude of flow for
springs tell me what magnitude you think this spring flows
at.
Enjoy the hiking here and the other caches in the area.