Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument - Springs and Seeps

The best-known feature of the Hagerman Valley is the many springs that flow from the basalt cliffs on the east side of the valley. The most spectacular of these is Thousand Springs, south of the Hagerman Bench. These springs are the outflow from a giant aquifer underlying the Snake River Plain, which has been breached by the canyon cut by the Snake River. This aquifer is one of the largest hydrologic systems in the world. The discharge is so great that, during the dry summer season, much of the flow of the Snake River is derived from the springs. As irrigation withdrawal from wells on the Snake River Plain increases, it is expected that the flow from the springs may decline.