The five of us (with both dogs) visited Box Canyon and hiked a tricky trail down to the base of the canyon. Total hike down and back was just under 2 hours.

This area fascinates geologists. The water appears to come from “nowhere” to start this river. For a long time, folks assumed the canyon was carved by groundwater sapping… essentially, water seeping out of the basalt gradually undermining the rock above until it collapsed.

Recent research has proven something else.. a megaflood actually carved the canyon approximately 45,000 years ago.

The waters here emerge at a rate of 180,000 gallons per minute — making it one of the largest springs in the United States. The canyon’s waters are maintained at a chilly 50°F year-round. The water flows underground (coming from mountains in the north) for nearly 200 years before emerging as waterfalls out of the canyon walls… slowly filtering through miles of layered basalt before reappearing here

The water purity was quite remarkable.. B+P jumped into these pools and can attest that, even at 50F, it’s still “Freezing!!”