Montezuma Well
This natural
limestone sinkhole offers a
unique setting to experience the contrast of two distinct life zones.
The well rim like most of the area nearby, is a high desert life zone.
The riparian area along Beaver Creek creates a yellow and green ribbon
of lush growth through this semi-arid countryside.Montezuma Well was formed long ago by the collapse of an immense underground cavern. Through this cavern flow continuously over one and a half million gallons of water a day; at a constant seventy-four degrees. As the water passes through the limestone it collects high amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide nearly one hundred times higher then most aquatic environments.
The high levels of CO2 make Montezuma Well completely inhospitable to fish, despite the presence of oxygen in the water. In their absence, has evolved a unique aquatic community of species, each of which are dependent on each other. Four of these species are found nowhere else on the planet.
Algae, and small floating plants, manufacture food from light energy and the rich supply of carbon dioxide in the water. At night, a great feeding frenzy begins, among the creatures that have adapted to this harsh aquatic environment. Amphipods, tiny shrimp-like animals, feed by combing algae through appendages below their mouths.
Leeches, living by day in the bottom sediments of the well, rise at night and, searching with sensory hairs on their bodies, gulp large quantities of the small amphipods. Night swimming water scorpions also make evening meals of the shrimp-like creatures. When the first light of day appears, these creatures sink back to the depths of the well until sunset, which begin another cycle.
Montezuma Well provides a lush verdant oasis in the midst of surrounding desert grassland. The waters of the well contain several forms of plant and animal life that are not found in any other waters of the world. This unique habitat is perhaps due to the constant input of large quantities of warm water that enter through underground springs, keeping the environment within the well very stable.
But the day and night creatures of Montezuma Well are not the only ones to take advantage of this unique water source. The Prehistoric Hohokam and Sinaguan cultures used this source of water for irrigating crops of corn, beans, squash, and cotton. The rich riparian and surrounding uplands provided wildlife and native plants to supplement their agricultural products. The site at Montezuma Well still contains traces of ancient lime encrusted irrigation ditches from their past farming activities.
These native peoples started living in the region about 2000 years ago. The Verde River and Beaver Creek -- two principle waterways in the Verde Valley -- ebb and flow as the seasons change. So it was with native peoples. They arrived, lived and cultivated, then after several hundred years seemingly vanished overnight. Why? Archaeologists speculate that drought, exhausted soil, disease, or wars with marauding bands may have contributed to their disappearance. Whatever the reason, they left their dwellings in the same condition, as they had inhabited them.
The Sinaguan were peaceful village dwellers. They are believed to have arrived in the valley about 900 AD, and the well supported a community of over 200 Sinaguan until 1425 AD. They lived in open areas and were primarily farmers. They augmented their diet by hunting and gathering. The Verde Valley supplied them with more than the basics. There was abundant water, fertile bottom lands and ample game -- including deer, antelope, rabbit, bear, muskrat, turtle and duck -- to complement a diet that depended on corn.
The Sinaguan were also skilled craftsmen. They formed stone tools such as axes, knives, hammers, and manos and metates for grinding corn. They also crafted bone into awls and needles, wove beautiful garments of cotton, and fabricated ornaments out of sea shells, turquoise, and local stone -- argillite -- for personal adornment. The last known native peoples to inhabit the Montezuma Well area were the Western Apache. Two small caves at the well show signs of Apache occupation, sometime after 1800.
In addition to the mystery of the disappearance of the Sinaguan, is the mystery of the water. Scientist have not discovered the origin of the consistently warm water that feeds Montezuma Well. At this time, where the water current is coming from and at what level, is unknown. It is well known that the flow rate of the well water rarely fluctuates, but the source deep in the earth’s layers remains, like the Sinaguan, a mystery. (1)