Abstract:
The karstified Redwall artesian aquifer discharges significant quantities of water to a small number of large springs in the Marble and Grand canyons of Arizona, U.S.A. The locations of the springs are topographically controlled, being situated on the flanks of regional structural depressions at locations where the depressions have been dissected by the canyons. The springs serve as the lowest potentiometric spill points for the aquifer. Modern caves behind the springs appear to be adjusted to the hydraulic boundary conditions governing circulation through the aquifer. These caves appear to be organized parallel to modern hydraulic gradients and are thus fairly independent of preexisting dissolution-enhanced fracture permeability. This indicates that sufficient time has elapsed since the modern circulation system boundaries became established for the flow regime to have created optimally oriented karstic permeability pathways. Dry remnant caves occur in dewatered sections of the Redwall aquifer which obviously predate dissection of the aquifer by the Colorado River. In contrast to the active caves, the dry caves are characterized by keyhole and slot passageways that are predominantly localized along joints and normal faults. The fractures date largely from late Tertiary extensional tectonism. These older caves are interpreted to be remnants of dissolution conduits in what was a more widespread regional Redwall artesian aquifer prior to incision of the Grand Canyon. Recharge to the Redwall aquifer takes place primarily as vertical circulation in normal fault zones where the faults have propagated upward through the overlying Supai confining layer. The water enters the faults directly from the land surface or as leakage from shallower aquifers that drain to the faults.