Squirting Cave Fountains

[Scott McCrea]

I'm not sure what to call them. I made up "cave fountains." If anyone knows their proper name, please enlighten us.

Anyway, I have now seen three cave fountains over the years. I managed to get video of each. They are very cool, imo. Anyone know the cause? Is there a pool of water above?

[ohiocaver]

On a similar vein, this lousy static image (attached) shows a two-way fountain. It was taken last month in Binkley Cave, Indiana. The water bubbles up and spurts both downstream (as expected) and also upstream. Maybe someone from Indiana Karst can tell more about it.

[Oddball]

How far "underground" were you when you have found this event? I know in Tag usually we have a substantial amount of ground above. So the pure gravity of the water following through a small crack from above would explain the water "squirting". In the first part of the video i noticed mineral deposits below where the water was coming from which is an indicator that it doesn't always flow as you seen it that day. I suspect that you saw it at the greatest flow rate. That is just a guess with the information I have. If you repeatedly go to the caves in the video and the same flow is happening all I can suggest for the reason is gravity.
Hope that helps.
And the video was great....have never seen something like that.

[NZcaver]

I noticed the same thing in an old mine one time. It was obvious there, but maybe not so much in caves where water is pouring from the ceiling and wall everywhere anyway. Underground aquifer, sinking stream, mystical magic...?

[Scott McCrea]

The spuirter in the first part, Cyclops, I have seen three times. Each time it has been squirting. But, at different rates—sometimes weaker than others.

Anyway, yes, there has to be some pressure building somewhere. I'm curious how much water is necessary to make a fountain like that.

[shibumi]

I saw one in a Wisconsin cave during an OCR a few years ago, the overburden was only 15-20 feet, which translates into a maximum possible pressure of about 9psi.

Anmar