Hydrogeology of the mineral springs at Manitou Springs, Colorado

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1985 · Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:6462724

Maslyn, R M; Blomquist, P K

Manitou Springs, a small resort community located at the base of 14,110 foot Pikes Peak, is situated at the south end of the southward plunging Williams Canyon Anticline. This is truncated south of town by the Ute Pass Reverse Fault, with over 30,000 feet of displacement. Paleozoic limestones are exposed north of Manitou Springs in north-south trending Williams Canyon. The Mississippian age Leadville Limestone and underlying Ordovician age Manitou Limestone contain over 40 caves, including the 8500-foot long Cave of the Winds system. These limestones continue under Manitou Springs, where cave forming processes have resulted in water-filled caverns. The 28 natural springs and flowing wells in Manitou Springs source in the limestone caverns. This carbonate aquifer is bounded by the Ute Pass Fault on the west and southwest, the Rampart Range Fault to the east, and open to recharge from exposed limestone to the north. Areal extent of the aquifer is approximately 3.5 spare miles, containing an estimated 10 billion gallons. In the past 100 years, spring development has lowered the potentiometric surface 50 feet. Contemporary and historical chemical analyses of the mineral water show high concentrations of calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, and carbon dioxide gas. This suggests prolonged exposure of the water to limestone, as confirmed by Carbon 14 age-dating values of up to 30,000 years.

• Research Organization: Consulting Geologist, Golden, CO (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6462724
• Report Number(s): CONF-8510489-
• Journal Information: Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States), Vol. 17; Conference: 98. annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Orlando, FL, USA, 28 Oct 1985
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
COLORADO
MINERAL SPRINGS
GEOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
WATER CHEMISTRY
ANTICLINES
AQUIFERS
CAVES
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
ISOTOPE DATING
LIMESTONE
AGE ESTIMATION
CARBONATE ROCKS
CAVITIES
CHEMISTRY
FEDERAL REGION VIII
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
NORTH AMERICA
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
USA
WATER SPRINGS
580100* - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989)
580400 - Geochemistry- (-1989)