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Hydrology

Desert Above, Drenched Below

The cycle is actually quite simple. It is evident that the snow in the mountains melts, flows down the streams, carries sand, and soaks into the ground...Predicting what changes in any part of the cycle would do to the other parts is not so simple.

Andrew Valdez, Great Sand Dunes Geologist

Explore:

• Mysterious Waters of the Dunes
• Pulsating Flow (animation)
• Seasonal Flow in Medano Creek
• Perched Aquifer
• Sand Transportation
• Hydrology Activities for middle school students
• Hydrology Lesson Plans for elementary teachers
• Water Management Policy and Decision-Making for high school teachers and students

Research Links

Ground-Water Flow Direction, Water Quality, Recharge Sources, and Age, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, South-Central Colorado, 2000-2001
Michael G. Rupert and L. Niel Plummer

Hydrogeology of the San Luis Valley, Colorado, An Overview—and a Look at the Future (.pdf)
Philip A. Emery

San Luis Valley Project, Closed Basin Division, Colorado (.pdf)
Alamosa Field Divsion Staff, Bureau of Reclamation

The Role of Streams in the Development of the Great Sand Dunes and their Connection with the Hydrologic Cycle (.pdf)
Andrew D. Valdez

Glossary Terms

confined aquifer, unconfined aquifer, perched aquifer, amplitude