"Ye Olde Spring" (Red Springs) EarthCache EarthCache
"Ye Olde Spring" (Red Springs) EarthCache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
"Ye Olde Spring" in Red Springs, North Carolina...
Red Springs, North Carolina, is located in the upper coastal plains of NC in Robeson County. It is 204 feet above sea level and has a mild climate.
Is the water actually red in Red Springs, NC?
Legend says that an American Indian brave at sunset, returning wearied from the day's hunt, knelt to drink from the deep spring that bubbled cool and refreshing water from the sands beneath the towering pines. He thought to rest awhile before seeking the lodge where a dark-eyed maiden waited. But alas, his rival for the maiden's hand, lurking in the forest, sent a death arrow speeding and the stricken warrior fell forward into the quiet waters and sank from sight. Only the bronze-hued blanket flung across his shoulder was left floating silently on the surface.
The wide, deep pool where American Indians and early plantation families sought the health-giving water and beneficial qualites of the water is long gone. In its place came pipes from which the same medicated water gushed freely, leaving behind the familiar russet sediment, caused by rion and sulphur deposits in the water.
Summer cottages, a hotel, and a few permanent homes began to cluster about the spring and a tiny village came into being and took its name from its famous water. Today, there is a small shelter over the natural springhead.
The geology of this area may be characterized as a gently southeastward dipping, and a southeastward thickening wedge of sediments and sedimentary rock ranging in age from recent through Cretaceous which rests on an underlying basement complex of Paleozoic age rocks. The basement surface ranges in elevation between 96 and 1,515 feet below sea level. The sediment wedge is comprised of layers and lenses of sand, clay, silt, limestone, gravel, shell material, and combinations thereof which range in total thickness from zero at the fall line to in excess of 1,515 feet in New Hanover County.
Water throughout Red Springs is provided by the Black Creek Aquifer, which is made up of alternating beds of sand and clay. The sands are generally gray to olive-gray in color, fine to medium grained, poorly sorted, and contain variable amounts of glauconite, phosphorite, shell fragments, lignite, and traces of mica, pyrite, and marcasite. Clays are generally gray to black in color.
What are Aquifers?
Aquifers, or more accurately, aquifer systems, are hydraulically connected materials (sands, limestone, and fractured rock) that provide water through a properly constructed well open to those materials. In the coastal plain, an aquifer is typically composed of one to several layers of eastward thickening permeable sands or limestone split by discontinuous clay-rich materials.
The aquifers in NC are highly varied in their character and water-producing capabilities. Several of these aquifers can be traced over large geographic areas and hence form principal aquifers; significant sources of ground water for potable water supplies and other agricultural or industrial interests in large portions of North Carolina. Again, the Black Creek Aquifer lies under Red Springs and the surrounding area.
What is a spring?
A spring is the result of an aquifer being filled to the point that the water overflows onto the land surface. Springs range in size from intermittent seeps, which flow only after much rain, to huge pools flowing hundreds of millions of gallons daily. Springs are a great source of fresh water, although infrequently mixed with saline. Some springs have a strong "rotten egg" smell due to the relatively high hydrogen-sulfide gas content.
Springs could offer a cool drink on a hot day or water with which to cook or bathe in. Many early settlers would build houses near springs for drinking purposes and also water their livestock. This was especially important during the winter months, when other sources of fresh water were frozen, springs could often be found flowing freely.
Springs can be classified not only by how much water is being discharged but by whether or not they flow continuously. If a spring flows only after a hard rain, it is called an ephemeral spring, but if it flows year round, it is classified as a perennial spring.
How are springs formed?
Springs may be formed in any sort of rock. Scientists classify rocks into three (3) major categories: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Igneous rocks are rocks that have molten under the crust of the earth, have been injected into the layers of the crust and cooled, or have been exposed to the air through a volcano or by volcanic activity, and then cooled. Some examples of an igneous rock would be granite or obisidian.
Sedimentary rocks - for which this area and most of North Carolina are known for - come from rocks that have been eroded or weathered into fine sand-like or clay-like granules, then deposited by wind and/or water. Over very long periods of time, these sediments are then turned into layers of rock by massive pressures. Fossils are most often found in sedimentary rock. Some examples of a sedimentary rock would be shale, sandstone, or limestone.
Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been changed from igneous or sedimentary rocks by heat and pressure from underneath the surface. These rocks are usually characterized by a flattened grain structure. Examples of a metamorphic rock would be slate or marble.
Again, springs can be formed in any of the above three types of rocks. When rainwater seeps through organic matter in the soil, it forms carbonic acid, which can dissolve rock and form fractures. When it reaches a horizontal crack or a layer of non-dissolving rock, such as slate or sandstone, the spring begins to cut sideways, forming an underground stream. As the process continues, the water hollows out more rock, eventually admitting an airspace, at which point the "spring stream" can be considered a cave. (This process can take up to thousands of years to complete.) The amount of water that flows from springs depends on many factors - the size of the caverns within the rocks, water pressure, the size of the basin, and the amount of rainfall. There are also some human activities, i.e. drilling of wells, that can influence the volume of water that discharges from a spring.
Types of Spring Outlets:
1. Seepage or filtration springs - The term seep refers to springs with small flow rates in which the source water has filtered into permeable earth.
2. Fracture springs - These 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.
3. Tubular springs - Springs where essentially the water dissolves and create underground channels, basically "cave systems".
And now, for the important question? Is the water safe to drink?!?
When drinking from natural springs or other sources of water, it all comes down to your judgment. There is a Scottish saying around Red Springs: "Slante mhor agad!" --- Great Health to you! (This is a reminder of the Scottish heritage and the mineral spring that the town is known for.)
The quality of the water in the local ground-water system will generally determine the quality of the 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 is in contact. The rate of flow and 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 a pocket of ancient seawater in the aquifer or with modern seawater along the ocean coast. Groundwater tends to maintain a relatively long-term average temperature of its aquifer; so flow from a spring may be cooler than a summer day, but remain unfrozen in the winter.
------------------------------
Resources for the above information includes various websites, including those depicting the history of Red Springs, North Carolina. Many thanks.
To get credit for this EarthCache, e-mail the answers to the following questions. Photos (you or your group with GPSr) are optional, but please no spoilers if posting a photo.
Questions:
1. What type of spring is it - ephemeral or perennial?
2. How high is the water at the time of your visit and what is the flow of the spring?
3. What color - if any - is the sediment around the spring?
-----------------------------
You can park next to the spring at the hotel parking lot or across the street from the spring.
Thanks for visiting.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)