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Phage0070 t1_j660znk wrote

> Where does the water come from?

Uphill. Water soaks into the ground and flows within it, on top of the bedrock which is impermeable. When the terrain allows it can emerge from the surface lower down as a spring.

> Can it run out?

Yes, the same as any river if it doesn't rain enough uphill from the spring then it will run out.

> Can you increase the amount of water coming from them?

Not exactly? The water is flowing through the ground so you would need to affect a fairly large amount of ground to increase the flow rate.

> Springs seem to just be an infinite source of clean water

No, they aren't. Unless your mind is blown by rivers.

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breckenridgeback t1_j6661ml wrote

> Uphill. Water soaks into the ground and flows within it, on top of the bedrock which is impermeable. When the terrain allows it can emerge from the surface lower down as a spring.

This is one means of creating a spring, but not the only one.

Another means is an artesian spring, where water pressure inside the rock can force water upward a short distance. The ultimate source of energy is still gravity (the source of the pressure is water higher up trying to force its way down), but the water doesn't flow exclusively downhill.

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