Watershed Maps and Photo Gallery
Links to Watershed Maps |
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(some maps are quite large and may take several minutes to download ) |
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Dye Trace Maps Dye trace studies are useful for understanding the relationship between surface water and ground water in karst. Fluorescent dye is released into a sinkhole. Springs in the area are monitored to detect the dye when it reaches the springs. Due to the small amount of dye released (less than five gallons), it is not visible to the naked eye by the time it reaches a spring because of the large amount of water in which it is diluted. The monitoring "bugs" placed in the springs are composed of charcoal that absorbs the dye. The "bugs" are later analyzed at a lab to determine the amount of dye going through the spring during a certain period of time. Dye trace studies have been conducted in Fillmore County since the 1980s with several "springsheds" being identified. A springshed is much like a watershed in that it is the area that contributes water to a spring including the underground flows. Although springshed boundaries and watershed boundaries are often similar, in karst, they do not always coincide. A sinkhole lying outside of a watershed boundary may be hydraulically connected to a spring within the watershed. This complicates water management. |
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Map 16 - Biological, Chemical, Physical Monitoring Sites
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Photo Gallery
| Moth Spring | ||
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Moth Spring (shown here) and Grabau Spring just across the valley are the headwater springs for Forestville Creek. Dye released into the Fairview Blind Valley five miles away arrived at the springs within 30 hours of being released. |
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Forestville |
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Floodwaters overtopped the bridge deck at the Forestville Historic Site during the 2000 floods. | |
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Students from LeRoy-Ostrander schools learn about aquatic biology in the South Branch from Forestville/Mystery Cave Park staff. |
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Forestville Creek looking upstream from the horse crossing in Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park. | |
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The bridge at the Forestville Historic Site is where the permanent water quality monitoring station is located. The station includes probes to measure stream stage, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, turbidity, pH, and temperature. Measurements are automatically recorded every fifteen minutes on a datalogger located at the bridge. | |
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This view of the South Branch is from the bridge crossing on Fillmore County Road 5 near the west entrance to the state park. | |
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Canfield Big Spring is one of a series of springs located in Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park that are the headwaters for the perennial portion of Canfield Creek. Canfield Creek is a disappearing stream upstream of the spring and only has water flowing in the most of it during runoff events. | |
Etna Creek |
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This datalogger, which was installed in the middle portion of the watershed north of Etna from 1998 to 2002, is similar to the one located at the permanent monitoring station at the Forestville Historic site bridge. It also has a rain gauge so that precipitation can be automatically recorded. | |
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Etna Creek crossing on Fillmore County Road 14 looking north. | |
Root River Country Club |
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The Root River Country Club is located adjacent to the South Branch of the Root River about four miles south of Spring Valley. | |
