ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST DISCOVERY SERIES
Each of the earthcaches in this series will take you along roads and trails
to discover the wonders that exist in and around the ANF.
Elk - Forest - McKean - Warren
This discovery series was developed as a heartfelt THANK YOU to all who completed the requirements as requested, and wrote positive logs worth the time to read. Complete 24 ECT caches. Send a list of logs (GL links) via message for verification of requirements. Arrange to meet at Cache Condo to pick up your trackable coin.
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
NOTE: Answers via message -and- six pictures (log signatures) are required to post a find for this cache. Pic at each spring
1. MESSAGE …. Identify the two springs in the above pictures. One was once the most popular watering place in McKean County. Due to oil drilling on the hill, the spring no longer flows. The other spring still flows with fresh, cold spring water.
2. MESSAGE …. Select FOUR additional springs. You may choose any springs within McKean County and surrounding areas. Post the coordinates if you find one not on the list.
3. MESSAGE …. a. Identify each spring as GRAVITY or ARTESIAN or GEYSER or HOT or MINERAL. ... b. Based on flow, arrange the springs from highest to lowest flow rate. ... c. What is the magnitude of each spring? ... c. You will need a pH kit to test the each of the five springs. What is the pH of each spring? This will enable you to identify if any are a mineral spring.
4. LOG …. Post a picture at or near the coordinates of each spring. These pictures are your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and creating this earthcache by adding A B C to your log.
A. Discover another body of water in/around the ANF, Give coordinates. Identify (river, stream, etc.). If found at a geocache/earthcache site, post picture with name of the cache and GC number instead of cooordinates.
B. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
C. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you ... prose / story / poem / picture. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
THANK YOU LN for travelling and hiking with RT to complete this Earthcache Trail.
7 Mile Spring N 41° 37.906 W 078° 34.551 GCWN9H
Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Spring N 41° 37.386 W 078° 13.497 GC165YE
Bordello Spring N 41° 52.057 W 078° 31.360 GCRZ99
Flowing Well N 41° 48.032 W 078° 20.859 GC6A3D
Kennedy Springs N 41° 49.346 W 078° 41.701 GCM860
Mt. Spring N 41° 47.663 W 078° 37.437 GCZ0KW
Spring Reservoir N 41° 52.105 W 078° 42.241 GCQ81K
Taintor N 41° 48.418' W 78° 40.035'
Wetmore Spring N 41° 42.876 W 078° 55.151 GCQXK0
THE WATER TABLE
Rain that falls on the surface seeps down through the soil and into a zone called the zone of aeration (or unsaturated zone) where most of the pore spaces are filled with air. As it penetrates deeper, it eventually enters a zone where all pore spaces and fractures are filled with water. This zone is called the saturated zone. The surface below which all openings in the rock are filled with water (the top of the saturated zone) is called the water table. The water table occurs everywhere beneath the Earth's surface. In desert regions it is always present, but rarely intersects the surface. Springs commonly form on hillsides, where the earth's slanting surface may "intersect" with the water table. Other, unseen springs are found under rivers and lakes, and account for the base-flow water levels in water bodies.
SPRINGS
A spring is an area on the surface of the Earth where the water table intersects the surface and water flows out of the ground. Springs occur when an impermeable rock (called an aquiclude) intersects a permeable rock that contains groundwater (an aquifer). Springs are a natural source of groundwater discharge at a rate high enough to form a channel on the earth's surface. The physical and chemical composition of spring water reflects not only the mineral composition of the various rock strata with which the water has been in contact, but also the various chemicals that percolate into groundwater.
All springs start out as groundwater that runs through an aquifer before meeting the earth surface. An aquifer is basically layers of rock in which water runs through porous rock and the cracks that form The rock acts as a filter as the water runs through it. As the water flows out of the earth’s surface, it can take many forms. Because of this there are categories for the type of spring that is there. Springs are identified by how that ground water is accumulated, how the water flows from the surface, the magnitude of the flow and the formation that the spring causes after flowing out.
Groundwater that runs as a spring is gathered a couple of ways. One being from rain or snow melts which is called an ephemeral (discharging intermittently). The other would be water flowing from a higher point under the ground surface, many know as wells, this is known as perennial (discharging constantly). Springs can form ponds, brooks, streams, become a marsh and even rivers or lakes. This all depends the type and flow of the spring.
TYPES
GRAVITY FED - Water flowing out of the earth's surface
ARTESIAN SPRING - Groundwater under pressure that overcomes gravity and goes up instead of down.
GEYSER - Erupting spring
HOT SPRINGS - Occur when the water issues from great depths or is heated by near-surface hot volcanic rock.
MINERAL SPRINGS - Those with a high mineral content, usually silica or lime, dissolved from the rocks through which the water has passed.
MAGNITUDE OF FLOW
When the groundwater flows to the surface it can appear in different ways. The magnitude of the flow will dictate how much water and how it surfaces. A “0” magnitude is no current flow; this may have had flow in the past or is an ephemeral type spring. As water breaks through the surface, it may be from a spout, several sprouts or it may just seep. With spouts, the water may bubble up from a flat surface and create a pond. Or it may pour out of exposed rock surface including exposed rock due to erosion. Eroded areas can have the water seep, pour and even come from the rock as waterfalls. So a seeping aquifer would normally be a low magnitude spring, although some seeping springs can produce a large amount of water flow over a wide area. The “waterfalls” types of springs can flow at a very high volume making it very high magnitude. The largest springs are called "first-magnitude," defined as meaning they discharge at least 100 cubic feet of water per second (cfs), or about 64.6 million gallons per day (mgd).
The scale for spring flow in Liters/second is as follows:
1st Magnitude - 2800 L/s
2nd Magnitude - 280 to 2800 L/s
3rd Magnitude - 28 to 280 L/s
4th Magnitude - 6.3 to 28 L/s
5th Magnitude - 0.63 to 6.3 L/s
6th Magnitude - 63 to 630 mL/s
7th Magnitude - 8 to 63 mL/s
8th Magnitude - 8 mL/s
0 Magnitude - no flow (sites of past/historic flow)
WATER QUALITY
One test of water quality is pH. Pure water has a pH of 7 (neutral). Water that is below pH7 is considered acidic. Water that is above pH7 is considered basic. Mineral water has a pH higher than 7.
McKEAN COUNTY
The USGS 414509078343401 MC 125 McKEAN COUNTY OBSERVATION WELL shows the water table varies between approx. 92.5' and 94.5' below land surface. This variability in the water table affects the magnitude of flow. The hilly topography and depth of the water table (less than 100') has resulted in numerous springs flowing throughout this area. The first spring to visit is TAINTOR SPRING at the posted coordinates. It is a gravity-fed, perennial spring that has a 5th magnitude flow rate. Locals are often seen filling their jugs at this spring.
RESOURCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_table
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_(hydrosphere)
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/dictionary.html
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis?program=uv&site_no=414509078343401&agency_cd=USGS
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/geology/images/WaterTable.jpg
WATER CACHES
All the water caches are a THANK YOU
to Earth Mother for her life-sustaining waters.
The depth of a soul is not measured by what appears on the surface.
