EDWARD'S COMAL SPRINGS EarthCache
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CAUTION: THERE IS A VIRTUAL CACHE HERE ALSO, PLEASE MAKE SURE WHICH ONE YOU ARE DOING!!!
A Geological Wonder!!, please view the images below for more Earth Science information.
If you do not send me the answers, I WILL delete your log. No exceptions.
Park at the coordinates listed and walk a couple hundred feet back to the springs. Read the sign directly in front of the springs, study the Earth Science and images below and answer the following for credit:
1. Are these springs considered to be “artesian”?
2. How many acres of land were bought and what was the total price paid?
3. What was the maximum discharge ever recorded, and what date was it?
4. How many discharge chutes do you see today?
5. Please do not post a picture of the answers on the sign.
If these questions are not answered by email I will regretfully delete your log after notifying you.
Earth Science: (Please read and study)
We all need to understand how important the Edwards aquifer geology is to the people of San Antonio, Bexar County and surrounding counties. The aquifer is a geological wonder. It is formed of three basic parts. These three parts were developed over millions of years of geological time, one layer at a time. Underneath the aquifer is a much older impermeable region that keeps the water from draining out below the aquifer. Above this is the porous region that holds the water and is from 300 to 700 feet thick. Above the aquifer region is a much younger impermeable region that holds the water in the aquifer region. This is why to reach the water in the aquifer in most places we have to drill through this impermeable region into the porous region of the aquifer. Without the aquifer there would be little or no water for humans or animals in this area. Comal Springs is a part of the Edwards Aquifer. This spring runs depending on the level (pressure) of water in the aquifer. If the aquifer is low, the spring runs low and vice versa. The geology of this spring and the aquifer is one of the most important things we can possibly try to understand. The aquifer stores water in several ways. In some places there are actual channels and “courses” in the limestone. These “courses” are caused by the dissolving of some of the softer rock and minerals by acid that is percolated up through the Earth’s crust. In the case of Comal Springs one of these openings came close enough to the earth’s crust to provide us with a spring. Water is also stored in between the pores in the material of the aquifer. Gravitational pressure on the stored water sometimes causes the water to come out at what we call an artesian “spring”. Comal Springs is “downstream” from the recharge area of the aquifer so when there is sufficient level or pressure in the aquifer, we have a flowing spring of beautiful cool clean water. The recharge area of the Edwards Aquifer is thousands of acres, mostly to the west and north of Comal Springs. The aquifer gets its water from many sources; caves, creeks, permeable surface areas, sinkholes, etc. Cibolo creek and Helotes creek both contribute water to the Edwards aquifer recharge zone. We must all learn that anything we do to the contributing and recharge areas affects the water collecting ability of the aquifer and therefore affects all living things in this area. The aquifer’s water levels are also affected by how much and how fast we pump water from the aquifer. The aquifer can only hold so much water. That is why sometimes it is necessary to restrict our water usage from the aquifer. In times of severe drought these springs do not flow at all.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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