Artesian Well EarthCache
lknox: The last time I talked to the landowner he was fine with having this cache here. The way he has been treating people and fencing it off and posting no trespassing signs. I think it best to archive it. Thanks to those who came and found it and sorry to those who had it on their to do list.
lknox
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A favorite watering hole.
I have talked with the owner of the well and property. He has agreed to my keeping this educational earth cache here. His biggest concerns are people rinsing out dirty buckets and pouring any foreign substances into the drain. This drain empties directly into his fish pond. On a couple of instances (not necessarily cachers as a lot of people get drinking water here) someone has poured soapy water and/or petroleum products in the drain and killed all of his fish.
So with respect and thanks to the property owner please use clean buckets and no caching after dark.
HOW DOES THIS THING WORK??
An artesian well is a drilled well which water is forced upward under pressure. The water in an artesian well flows from an aquifer, which is a layer of very porous rock or sediment, usually sandstone, capable of holding and transmitting large quantities of water. The geologic conditions necessary for an artesian well are an inclined aquifer sandwiched between impervious rock layers above and below that trap water in it. Water enters the exposed edge of the aquifer at a high elevation and percolates downward through interconnected pore spaces. The water held in these spaces is under pressure because of the weight of water in the portion of the aquifer above it. If a well is drilled from the land surface through the overlying impervious layer into the aquifer, this pressure will cause the water to rise in the well. In areas where the slope of the aquifer is great enough, pressure will drive the water above ground level in a spectacular, permanent fountain.
Artesian springs can occur in similar fashion where faults or cracks in the overlying impervious layer allow water to flow upward. Water from an artesian well or spring is usually cold and free of organic contaminants, making it desirable for drinking. In North America, the Dakota sandstone provides aquifers for an artesian system that underlies parts of the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, and Saskatchewan and supplies great quantities of water to the dry Great Plains region. Many East Coast cities derive their water supplies from aquifers that are exposed along the edge of the Piedmont and dip downward toward the Atlantic coast. The largest artesian system in the world underlies nearly all of Eastern and Southern Australia.
From the Columbia Encyclopedia, author not available.
You may have heard of an Artesian Well before but never saw one or know how they work. This earthcache will not only show you one, it will allow you to drink from one if you wish. While I was getting cordinates some local people came to fill their water containers.
I've known about this well since I was a teenager. There are two other drilled artesian wells nearby, one on the same side of the road about 100 yards away towards the NW in behind a house. The people that live there have the water piped right to there house. The other is across the road about 150 yards away towards the NE the water from it is also piped to a house. This is the only one where public access is permitted.
From what I have found out talking to some of the locals these three wells were drilled in the late 1800’s in hopes of striking oil.
I always check when driving past to see if it is still flowing. The locals told me that to the best of their knowledge these wells have never stopped flowing or even slowed down. You can drive right up to this EarthCache. I would think it safe to say that it is wheel chair accessable but if anyone has trouble let me know and I’ll change the rating. I hope you will find it interesting and educational, and if you've never tasted good well water try it out. I did. Mention in your log if you tried it or not and give your taste testing opinion.
To complete this earth cache you will need a 3 or 5 gallon bucket and a thermometer.
To log this EarthCache you must measure the output of the well in gallons per minute (gpm) and take the temperature of the water (F) and send the results to me by email.
The easiest way to determine the output is to bring a 3 or 5 gallon bucket and, using your watch, time how long in seconds it takes to fill, Then determine the number of gallons being produced in a minute. Example: It takes _ _ seconds to fill the 3 gallon container. There are 60 seconds in a minute so by performing simple math you can determine the output of the well in gallons per minute.
Although not a requirement everyone likes pictures so feel free to post pictures of your visit.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qba'g sbetrg n 3 be 5 tnyyba ohpxrg naq n gurezbzrgre.