In geology, it is generally accepted that karst dips are formed by erosion of water going deep from the surface. The limestone rock is not strong, washed out and destroyed. Perhaps many craters and sinkholes in the ground are formed in this way. But there are karst sinkholes, on the contrary, with water outflows from them.
One of the most famous such objects in Europe:
Spring Vaucluse, France, Provence. Flow rate: 4000–150,000 l / s. The output is uneven. On what it depends, according to scientists, it was not possible to find. There are no glaciers.
Below this water flows down in the form of a river, reminiscent of a mountain stream.
Promotional video:
I have long had the idea that numerous aqueducts in ancient times were built just from such sources and mountain rivers with clean water. Advantages of this: always clean water without biological pollution (as in lowland rivers). No microalgae, no blooming water. Of course, plaque can appear on the aqueduct itself. I think it was cleaned regularly.
We look further …
The name of this source gave the concept to other similar water outlets. I suggest looking at some examples of such outputs.
Blue Lake in Abkhazia. Depth 76 meters. One of the attractions and tourist destination.
Those. this volume of water begins at the top of the mountain and flows into the river. The question of why water streams were able to climb the mountain - geology is not puzzled. Mechanisms are not described, models are not built for what reason this may occur. It is clear that these are underground waters. But why do they not immediately feed the river, but leave the mountain slopes?
Lake Krugloye, Sharypovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Territory. The mirror of the lake is higher than the nearby Maloe and Bolshoye lakes (near the village of Parnoe). A small waterfall flows from Krugloye to Maloe. The distance between the lakes is 70 m, and the height difference of the water mirror in the lakes is 26 meters. It turns out that Lake Krugloye is also a vokluz, but with a small water flow rate.
And such examples can be continued. Probably, they can be found in every region, region, district. From springs to large outlets. But, often, such sources dry up and then we see karst sinkholes:
Depth: 530 m. And the cave itself could have been formed by the emergence and washing of rocks by groundwater. Many of these sinkholes have water at the bottom. If it were rain, it would quickly evaporate or glass deep into the porous rock. But no, the level is about the same throughout the year.
A system of karst sinkholes in mesas in Venezuela. I wrote about this place here.
There are still huge streams of water coming out of the mesas. And one of them, falling down, is the well-known Angel Falls. The karst sinkholes themselves in the mesas could also be water outlets.
There are many such examples. They all relate to much larger volumes of water outflows during a flood. In many places, streams could wash out pebble rocks and carry them into rivers. There are also examples where the vaults of the caves are composed of clay with pebbles.
Author: sibved