An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater that will flow upward through a well, called an artesian well, without the need for pumping. Water may even reach the ground surface if the natural pressure is high enough, in which case the well is called a flowing artesian well or spring.
An aquifer is a layer of soft rock, like limestone or sandstone, that absorbs water from an inlet path. Porous stone is confined between impermeable rocks or clay. This keeps the pressure high, so when the water finds an outlet, it overcomes gravity and goes up instead of down. The recharging of aquifers happens when the water table at its recharge zone is at a higher elevation than the head of the well.
Fossil water aquifers can also be artesian if they are under sufficient pressure from the surrounding rocks. This is similar to how many newly tapped oil wells are pressurized.
This area was sculpted by glaciers. In the Pleistocene Ice Age, glaciers carved out soft stone layers from the pressure of the slowly moving ice sheets, or from melt water erosion. The advance of the Illinoian glacier 300,000 years ago continued the modification of the Ohio landscape, eroding bedrock and older sediments and depositing sediment as it melted. The Wisconsinan glaciation entered Ohio about 24,000 years ago and was gone from the state by 14,000 years ago. These lobate deposits blanket western, central and northern Ohio and form most of the dominant features of the landscape. Most of this area is covered with a heterogeneous mixture of clay, silt, and rocks, known as till.
This deposit of impermeable layers from the Wisconsinan glacier on top of the exposed limestone and till from the Illinoian glacier created a porous avenue for percolating water from rain and run-off from upper elevations to flow underground. Further soils and sedimentation were deposited over time, compressing the clay, ultimately creating a sealed aquifer beneath the clay.
As you look around, you can see the layers in the hillside, although most of the rock has been covered in organic material. The clay is higher on the hill, beneath the organic soils, and almost impossible to see. Where you are standing was at the same elevation as the top of the hill until the glacier carved it out over 300,000 years ago.
This spring, and others, feed the ponds and lakes nearby. A weak spot, or crack in the impermeable layer allows the pressure of the contained water to flow up and out into the current environment. Here it takes on the personality of an artesian spring since it is flowing from the side of a hill. Others in the area are artesian wells as they seemingly shoot up from the flat land. Even others exist, but are hidden beneath the ponds and lakes that formed in the hollows and the water was trapped above the impermeable layer of the clay below.
Most governments in the U.S.A. will have an artesian well on the public right-of-way labeled as "unsafe", because the water is untreated and may not meet health department standard. As such, they are posted as "unfit for human consumption" or "unsafe". The amount of contaminants is determined by the area and use of the land from which the the aquifer is filled. Agricultural fertilizers, waste products from farming and manufacture, as well as contaminants drifting in from other areas will eventually enter the aquifer over time.
To claim this cache, you must answer some questions and take an optional picture of you or your GPS unit with the well in the picture.
The required questions are:
1) How many gallons of water flow from this well per hour?
Use whatever method you feel suits your situation best, but the math with be up to you. If you have a gallon container and an hour to spare, that's the most accurate.
2) From observing the surrounding area and looking at maps, what do you feel is the source for the artesian well here?
3) What color is the water coming from the well?
4) Does the water have any discernible odor?
5) What is the elevation at the pipe output?
Extra Credit:
Did you taste the water? If so, what did you taste?
Optional, but highly recommended:
Take a picture of yourself, others in your group, or your device that led you here with the spring in the background.
Submit your answers via email link from my profile page. Post your optional, but highly recommended, picture to your log when you log your find.
I reserve the right to delete any find logs that do not fulfill the requirements listed above.