Intermittent Spring, also called Periodic Spring, is located in
Swift Creek canyon
A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...
in the
Star Valley, near
Afton, Wyoming
Afton is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,172 at the 2020 census. Afton is home to the world's largest arch made of elk antlers. Spanning across the four lanes of U.S. Highway 89, the arch, completed in ...
.
It is the largest
rhythmic spring in the world.
The great great grandfather of
Rulon Gardner is credited with the discovery. Gardner says, "He was up there logging. He went up and found a nice little place to get some
fresh water
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...
. It was intermittent. It went, and stopped. So it was pretty amazing".
Siphon theory
The theory is that as groundwater flows continuously into a cavern, it fills a narrow tube that leads out. As it pours over the high point of the tube, it creates a
siphon
A siphon (; also spelled syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in an inverted "U" shape, which causes a liquid to flow upward, abo ...
effect, sucking water out of the chamber. Eventually air rushes in and breaks the siphon. Kip Solomon, a
hydrologist
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...
at the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, said, "We can't think of another explanation at the moment".
When the University of Utah conducted and finished their studies, Solomon concluded that "The spring water's gas content has now been tested at the University of Utah. The data strongly suggests the water was exposed to air underground; strong support for the siphon theory."
See also
*
Gihon Spring, another well-known rhythmic spring, located in the ancient
City of David
*
Salt River Range
Notes
Sources
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{{Coord, 42.74438, -110.84850, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-WY
Springs of Wyoming
Bodies of water of Lincoln County, Wyoming