Jacob's Well (Texas)
Encyclopedia
Jacob's Well is a significant karstic spring
, the largest perennial spring in the Texas Hill Country
. It flows from the most extensive underwater cave in Texas
, opening in the bed of Cypress Creek, a few miles North of Wimberley, Texas
. The twelve foot (four meter) diameter mouth of the cave serves as a popular swimming and water recreation spot for the local land owners whose properties adjoin Cypress Creek. From the opening in the creek bed, Jacob's Well descends vertically for about thirty feet (ten meters), continuing from there at an angle as a series of chambers separated by narrow, often deeply silted and unstable necks, ultimately reaching a depth of at least one hundred-twenty feet (forty meters). From the dawn of recorded history until the modern era, the Trinity Aquifer-fed natural artesian spring gushed water from the mouth of the cave and as much as thirty feet (ten meters) into the air. Documented flow in 1924 was one hundred-seventy gallons per second (six hundred-forty liters per second), discharging six feet (two meters) into the air. This spring is the most visible source of Cypress Creek, and a source of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer
.
Due to development in the area, the level of the Trinity Aquifer has dropped, affecting the flow of water through Jacob's Well. In the modern era, all that usually remains visible of the spring is a faint ripple on the surface of Cypress Creek. The spring ceased flowing for the first time in recorded history in 2000; it again ceased flowing in 2008. These events resulted in on-going measures to address local water conservation and quality. Hays County purchased fifty acres (202000 square meters) of land around Jacob's Well in 2010, to protect the spring from development. With an additional thirty-one acres transferred from the neighboring Jacob’s Well Natural Area (itself administered by the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA)), the new, eighty-acre (323000 square meter) Westridge Tract will be administered by Hays County.
With the decrease in water flow through the submarine cave system, divers were for the first time able to descend to the first chambers. Jacob's Well has the notoriety of being one of the most dangerous underwater caves for SCUBA divers
. At least eight divers have lost their lives while exploring Jacob's Well. At least four chambers have been explored, the last of which requires passage through a neck barely large enough for a diver to fit with his air tanks.
Karst spring
A karst spring is a spring that is part of a karst system. That includes the underground drainage of a much larger area, which means that karst springs often have a very large discharge...
, the largest perennial spring in the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
. It flows from the most extensive underwater cave in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, opening in the bed of Cypress Creek, a few miles North of Wimberley, Texas
Wimberley, Texas
Wimberley is a small town in Hays County, Texas, United States. Prior to its incorporation in May 2000, it was a census-designated place . The population was 2,626 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. The twelve foot (four meter) diameter mouth of the cave serves as a popular swimming and water recreation spot for the local land owners whose properties adjoin Cypress Creek. From the opening in the creek bed, Jacob's Well descends vertically for about thirty feet (ten meters), continuing from there at an angle as a series of chambers separated by narrow, often deeply silted and unstable necks, ultimately reaching a depth of at least one hundred-twenty feet (forty meters). From the dawn of recorded history until the modern era, the Trinity Aquifer-fed natural artesian spring gushed water from the mouth of the cave and as much as thirty feet (ten meters) into the air. Documented flow in 1924 was one hundred-seventy gallons per second (six hundred-forty liters per second), discharging six feet (two meters) into the air. This spring is the most visible source of Cypress Creek, and a source of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer
Edwards Aquifer
The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it discharges about of water a year and directly serves about two million people...
.
Due to development in the area, the level of the Trinity Aquifer has dropped, affecting the flow of water through Jacob's Well. In the modern era, all that usually remains visible of the spring is a faint ripple on the surface of Cypress Creek. The spring ceased flowing for the first time in recorded history in 2000; it again ceased flowing in 2008. These events resulted in on-going measures to address local water conservation and quality. Hays County purchased fifty acres (202000 square meters) of land around Jacob's Well in 2010, to protect the spring from development. With an additional thirty-one acres transferred from the neighboring Jacob’s Well Natural Area (itself administered by the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA)), the new, eighty-acre (323000 square meter) Westridge Tract will be administered by Hays County.
With the decrease in water flow through the submarine cave system, divers were for the first time able to descend to the first chambers. Jacob's Well has the notoriety of being one of the most dangerous underwater caves for SCUBA divers
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
. At least eight divers have lost their lives while exploring Jacob's Well. At least four chambers have been explored, the last of which requires passage through a neck barely large enough for a diver to fit with his air tanks.
External links
- Jacob's Well Natural Area
- Hill Country Outdoor Guide: Jacob's Well Natural Area
- The Hydrology and Biology of Cypress Creek (Hays County), a Subtropical Karstic Stream in South Central Texas
- Austin American Statesman: 50 acres added to Jacob's Well
- Horseback Magazine Online: Iconic Jacob’s Well Saved From Development in Texas
- Texas Tribune: Texas Debates Who Owns Its Water
- Texas Observer: The End of the Hill Country
- Alternet: Behind Texas's Looming Crisis: Groundwater Scarcity
- Texas Living Waters Project: Jacob's Well Stops Flowing (PDF)
- The Fatal Allure of JACOB'S WELL