Scientists
Study Mysterious River
November
20 2006
John Hollenhorst Reporting
Imagine
a pristine mountain stream that turns on and off every few minutes, all by itself.
Believe it or not, there is such a Mystery River not far from here, one of only
two in the entire world.
Now,
University of Utah scientists have new evidence that may explain how the phenomenon
works.
It's
not a big river. It's an icy mountain stream. But a few minutes later, it's gone.
And a few minutes after that, it's back.
Gerald
Vanbrunt, Arkansas Tourist: "This is just as good as Old Faithful."
But
it's not a geyser; it's fed by a cold-water spring. In fall and winter it has
a natural cycle, about 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.
The
only other spring like it in the world is in France. It's a point of pride in
nearby Afton, Wyoming.
Al
Hale, Afton, Wyo. Resident: "Well the folklore is that the Indians were the
first ones to see this phenomenon."
Just
before it erupts, the spring emits a deep gurgling noise. A rising puddle quickly
becomes a surprisingly vigorous roaring creek.
Kip
Solomon, University of Utah Hydrologist: "Well, everything about this spring
is somewhat surprising. It's an extremely unusual occurrence."
The
town of Afton built a structure to protect their water supply. It's very cold,
very pure, and it tastes good. It's won national awards.
Rulon
Gardner, Olympic Gold Medalist: "Of course! You know, Star Valley water.
It's the best in the world."
Olympic
gold medalist Rulon Gardner's great-great grand-dad is credited with the discovery.
Rulon
Gardner, Olympic Gold Medalist: "He was up there logging. He went up and
found a nice little place to get some fresh water. It was intermittent. It went,
and stopped. So it was pretty amazing."
Prof.
Kip Solomon: "We can't think of another explanation at the moment."
Here's the theory: 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 effect, sucking water out of the chamber. Eventually air rushes in and
breaks the siphon.
Gerald
Vanbrunt, Arkansas Tourist: "It's kind of like a toilet flushing. All the
water goes out, it fills back up, and goes back out."
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.
Prof.
Kip Solomon: "Yeah, I think that we're a step closer to the answer."
Someday,
science may have a definitive answer. For now, we can just enjoy the natural wonder
of an on-again, off-again, mystery river.
The
intermittent spring is at the end of a half-mile hike, in a canyon straight east
of Afton, Wyoming.
