Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

Chapter 26 -- Subterranean Water Bodies
The National Speleological Society of America map indicates where caves tend to be found.
Caves are classified as "wet" or "dry," but again it's a bit subjective. "Wet" can be taken as
having ponded or flowing water. Others define "wet" as caves experiencing ongoing feature
formation, which is basically to say that a drip is qualification enough. In either case, the
designation may depend upon how deep a cave is penetrated; caves which first seem to be dry
may evidence water in deeper recesses.
How do such cave surveys pertain to subterranean streams?
1. The vast majority of caves are the result of karstification.
2. Every karst cave is the product of flowing water, rarely with channelized characteristics in
the initial stages, but increasingly likely conduited with the passage of time.
3. The vast majority of caves thus have some sort of "underground river" genesis.
4. It may be difficult to associate a conduit intercepted in well-drilling with an identifiable source
or outflow. Surface features may be obscured and/or the subterranean network may be too
vast. There most likely is, however, or has been, some sort of cavern involved.
"Cave River" and "Underground River" or "Cave Lake" and "Underground Lake" thus tend to be
sometimes-interchanged labels.
Cave Rivers
Karst
Lava
Gypsum
Other
Let us consider four alternatives of how a cave river might operate.
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