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Montezuma Well is a sinkhole formed by the collapse of an underground limestone cavern filled with water. More than a million gallons of water per day flow continuously, providing an oasis in the surrounding desert. At an elevation of 3,618 feet, Montezuma Well measures 368 feet across and 55 feet deep. The source of the well's water has not been identified. Tests using gas and dye have not made a connection with any other water source in the area.
The well is a unique ecosystem with several plants and animals found nowhere else. There are leeches, amphipods, water scorpions and turtles that live in this closed ecosystem. This is due to the receiving and discharging of large quantities of warm water (76° F) that enters through underground springs, keeping the environment within the well very stable. The well empties into Beaver Creek, a trickle during drought years and a torrent during wet years. These unpredictable weather conditions may have contributed to the appearance and disappearance of two distinct desert cultures, the Hohokam and the Sinagua. Both irrigated their crops with the well's waters.
It is believed that the first european visitor to Montezuma Well was the Spaniard Antonio de Espejo on his expedition of 1583. In his journal, he describes an abandoned pueblo with a ditch running from a nearby pond. The well was first brought to the attention of the general public by Richard J. Hinton in the Handbook to Arizona in 1878.
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