Every year at Grand Canyon National Park, millions of visitors from all over the world stop at one of a dozen water spigots.
Every year at Grand Canyon National Park, millions of visitors from all over the world stop at one of a dozen water spigots. Most people are on a rim, seeing the canyon’s majesty for the first time, when they step off the trail to refill a water bottle. Others are deep in the belly of the canyon, sweaty and tired, facing a hike up in punishing heat, filling their reservoirs and dumping water over their heads to avoid dehydration and heat stroke.
All that water comes from one place: Roaring Springs, a cave-fed spring on the North Rim. You can see and hear it from the North Kaibab Trail, though no trail approaches it. It’s a lifeline for the canyon and everything that lives in it—humans, plants and animals—and it’s increasingly at risk as the climate gets warmer and drier.
Researchers in NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems are leading research that maps Roaring Springs and other cave-fed springs. A new grant, funded by Grand Canyon National Park, will expand mapping across the park to understand how the snow and springs are connected.
Read More: Northern Arizona University
