Going down stream

There goes Flat Creek, toward Black Mountain NC...where it will join the Swanannoa River, then the French Broad in Asheville, then somewhere in Tennessee the Holston, then the Tennessee River, then the Ohio River, then the Mississippi.

I just had one of those moments where my brain hasn't found an answer to satisfy it, regarding water flow. I've visited Balsam Spring, which is near the summit of the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, Mt. Mitchell at 6684 feet above sea level. My question about this highest spring in the eastern US is...how does that water flow continually at such a high level?

There isn't that much ground above it for rain or snow to feed it. It's maybe a few hundred feet below the peak and all above it is forest and rocks, no pools up there. So where is the water coming from? Is it being pushed up by pressure from an aquifer further down the mountain, like the constant flow of most mountain streams? But how does that work going up so high?

I couldn't find a good answer when I just went "Duck Duck" looking (my search engine choice is not google.)

If you know anything about mountain springs...especially when there's no aquifer up as high as they are...please help me understand this.

Today's quote:

“Don’t look for peace. Don’t look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender.”

Eckhart Tolle


Our World Tuesday