View from Arbor Crest, looking east, toward Idaho. Groundwater flow in the aquifer is toward the viewer.
Urban growth, industrial parks, and transportation corridors across the surface of the aquifer can have serious impact to the water quality in the aquifer.
View from Arbor Crest, looking east, toward Idaho. Groundwater
flow in the aquifer is toward the viewer.
During the catastrophic floods that formed the aquifer, the peak flood stage elevation was higher than this view point! In fact, flood discharge peaked at about 360,000,000 cubic feet per second! (O'connor and Baker, 1992)
Ground water moving through the Spokane aquifer from Idaho to Washington
flows very slowly through the tiny pore spaces in between the sand and
gravel that comprises the aquifer's framework. A molecule of ground water
can typically move about 30 feet/day in this part of the aquifer - far
slower than the rate of flow in the Spokane River for example.
