The Spring that Breathes
Imagine sitting among some boulders in a green canyon enjoying the playful twitter of birds and the whispering brush of the leaves when suddenly water comes gushing down all around you and you have to leap up quickly before you get wet.
The poetic name is the spring that breathes. It goes by three different technical names: rhythmic spring or intermittent spring or periodic spring. The phenomenon occurs in an estimated 100 places around the world.
The theory is that there is an underground reservoir that fills with water and in turn fills up a narrow underground “tube” that brings the water up and up and up until it pours over the top, which creates a siphon effect sucking water so quickly from the reservoir that an air pocket is created. The air pocket effectively shuts the water off for a period of time until the reservoir refills and water comes gushing out once again.
Just south of Jackson, there’s an intermittent spring near Afton, Wyoming. If you want to witness the effect, go in the fall. In the spring and even well into the summer, meltwater is so massive that the reservoir never empties and so the flow might lessen, but doesn’t stop. In fall, however, the effect is dramatic. For fifteen minutes, the water flows. The next fifteen minutes, there is nothing.
The intermittent spring in Jerusalem, Gihon Spring, was the primary source of water for the City of David more than 5,000 years ago. The roots of the Hebrew word “Gihon” are derived from “gushing.” The extensive tunnel system built at the time of King Hezekiah can be walked today as long as you’re willing to get your feet wet and bend through cramped spaces. The waters of Gihon Spring flowed into the Pool of Siloam where Jesus healed a blind man, which can be visited today.
At the left branch of Lake Como in Villa Pliniana, Italy, there is a rhythmic spring once studied by Leonardo da Vinci. Today, the site is on the grounds of luxury hotel.
SOURCES:
Periodic Spring by Ned Eddins
Geology of Wyoming – Periodic Spring
Water Works – National Geographic
Jerusalem – Water Systems of Biblical Times
Italy restaurato! Villa Pliniana revived!
Vacation Like Royalty at Inspirato’s Villa Pliniana in Lake Como