31 March 2018
Thousand Trails Resort
Cottonwood,Az
Just a short 10 mile drive from Montezuma’s Castle, is Montezuma Well but not related in anyway. As we walked up to the ranger station, we were greeted with this sign, yep, it’s starting to warm up.
The well is a natural limestone sinkhole (much like the Florida sinkholes) and also contains Sinagua dwellings, all with a water view from their home. About 1,500,000 US gallons of water emerge each day from an underground spring. The steady outflow has been used for irrigation since the 8th century. Part of a prehistoric canal is preserved near the park’s picnic ground, and portions of the canal’s original route are still in use today.
The Well measures 386 feet in diameter from rim to rim and contains a near-constant volume of spring water even in times of severe drought. The water is highly carbonated and contains high levels of arsenic. There are no fish, but at least five endemic species are found exclusively in Montezuma Well: a diatom, the Montezuma Well springsnail, a water scorpion, the Hyalella montezuma amphipod, and the Motobdella montezuma leech —lots of leeches.
Montezuma Well’s steady outflow has been used for irrigation since the 8th century. Part of a prehistoric canal is preserved near the park’s picnic ground, and portions of the canal’s original route are still in use today.
There were some HUGE sycamore trees here!
The last picture below is a typical house that is NOT painted brown!
