On the west side of the dunefield, water emerges from the sand and rabbitbrush at Indian Spring. Hydrologists have mapped the southwest flow of this water and have found that it takes about 60 years for the water to complete its six or more mile subterranean journey beneath the dunefield. Close by Indian Spring, researchers have dug a well that reaches down into the deep aquifer—over 350 feet. Water drawn from this well has been measured using carbon-14 dating methods. Scientists have discovered that this water has not seen the light of day for about 30,000 years.