There are places here and there in the wash where water comes to the surface. Prior to this summer I only knew of two, but there’s lots of wash I never explored. In the Gulch the wash is commonly used as a road but there are other places where strangers are unwelcome.
Anyway, when this one appeared so suddenly so close to the Lair I didn’t find it that odd, given the oddity of the Monsoon we just suffered through. I also didn’t expect it to last. I’ve sort of grown used to getting things I don’t expect, so now I’m assuming this one will be with me for a while.
It seems to come out in the neighborhood of these big fallen rocks – possibly underneath them…
…and it flows. I obviously can’t show that in a still picture but water is actively flowing downstream…
…saturating the entire width of the wash for roughly 100 yards before it runs out of volume. That’s a lot of sand. A lot of water just naturally coming out of the ground. In Michigan and the mountains of upper California there’s nothing unusual about artesian springs but they’re not the norm in the desert. The water table is too deep. I don’t know enough geology to understand how this works.
I do know from the tracks that it’s attracting a lot of wildlife, and not just the damned cattle. Maybe the mulies and elk will hang out closer to the cabin now.
Elk meat is edible, right? Potable water out of the ground without having to dig for it sounds like a not-bad thing, SHTF. Presuming potability…
Sounds like a plan to build a pond. Any clay around?
Careful about building a pond! Satellite analysis will reveal digging activity in a wetland, and Joel will find a herd of EPA agents wielding clipboards, and he will be fined $25,000 per day until he restores the desert and stops confusing migrating endangered ants.
Sadly senor Malatrope is correct. Tinkering with naturally occurring water, even if it’s on your own property, is a surefire way to invite ‘da man’ into your life. And that is NEVER a good thing.
Oh I don’t know, might be fun…what are they going to do? Joel can claim he has no idea how the spring sprang or formed a pond — a complete act of nature!