Montzuma Well Virtual Cache

Locating the source of the well's water has researchers baffled. Tests using gas and dye have been performed, but so far, no connection has been established between the well's water and any other water source in the area. For trivia lovers, in May 1948, the U.S. Park Service used scuba equipment for the first time ever, to explore Montezuma's Well.

The well is a unique ecosystem with several plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. There are leeches, amphipods, water scorpions and turtles that live in this closed ecosystem. This remarkable habitat is perhaps due to the receiving and the discharging of large quantities of warm water (76° F) that enters through underground springs, keeping the environment within the well very stable.

Due to the high concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide, 600 times higher than most natural aquatic environments -- it affords unique conditions for scientific studies of plant and animal interactions not found anywhere else. This rich supply of dissolved CO2, hence lack of oxygen, has precluded many aquatic animals from living in these waters, especially fish.

The terrestrial vegetation that occurs around the rim of the well includes juniper, Arizona Sycamore, Arizona Walnut, Acacia, Velvet Mesquite, Velvet Ash, Cliff-rose, Brittlebush, Salt Bush, Creosote Bush, Desert Broom, Spanish Dagger and the exotic Joint-fir, Ephedra (Mormon tea).

Wildflowers abound. They include Lambs Quarter (Globemallow), Indian Paintbrush, Gray Thistle, Penstemon, Pale Evening-primrose, Prickle Poppy, Jimson Weed (Sacred Datura), Milkvetch, Yellow Columbine, Hedgehog, Englemann's Prickly Pear and Maidenhair Spleenwort.

During the winter, the well is a stopover for various waterfowl. It's not uncommon to see American Wigeons, Coots, Mallards, Ruddy ducks, Cinnamon Teal, Gadwalls, and even an occasional Canada Goose.

During the spring or summer you may see an abundance of native or visiting feathered friends. including the American Robin, Roadrunner, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Great Horned Owl (this is a year-round resident that lives in the well's inner walls), Common Raven, Belted Kingfisher, Black Phoebe, Canyon Wren, cardinal, Gambel's Quail, Gila Woodpecker, Great Blue Heron, Lesser Goldfinch, Mourning Dove and Red-Shafted Flicker.

Native wildlife include the Arizona Grey Fox, porcupine, beaver, chipmunk, cottontail rabbit, Javelina, skunks and the White-Tailed Deer. Snakes inhabiting the area are the rattlesnake, bull snake and gopher snake. Lizards such as the Collared Lizard abound.

The well empties into Beaver Creek, a trickle during drought years and a torrent during wet years. These unpredictable weather conditions may have contributed to the appearance and disappearance of two distinct desert cultures, the Hohokam and the Sinagua. Both irrigated their crops with the well's waters. Oddly, Sinagua is a Spanish word that means "without water."

Native peoples started living in the region about 2000 years ago. The Verde River and Beaver Creek -- two principle waterways in the Verde Valley -- ebb and flow as the seasons change. So it was with native peoples. They arrived, lived and cultivated, then after several hundred years seemingly vanished overnight. Why? Archeologists speculate that drought, exhausted soil, disease, or wars with marauding bands may have contributed to their disappearance. Whatever the reason, they left their dwellings in the same condition as they had inhabited them.

To recieve credit for this cache you need to

1. take a picture of you and your GPS against the last tree on the outer trail, at the end of the trail ( this is the trail that goes around the outside of the well and down by the river)

2. take a picture of you and your GPS inside the well... (you will understand when you get there)

3. post those photos here when you log your find.