CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:53).
Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.).
Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-14-21.
TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 17, 2021. This revised episode from July 2017 is part of a series this year of groundwater-related episodes.
SOUND - ~6 sec -- MUSIC - ~17 sec – instrumental
That’s the James River at Richmond, followed by part of “See What I Have Done,”
by the Blacksburg-based group, Sweet Chalybeate. The group’s named for an Alleghany County,
Va., town and the word—chalybeate—for
iron-enriched spring water. Those sounds
and music open an episode about a Virginia area known both for its groundwater and
as the headwaters of the James, perhaps Virginia’s most famous surface water. To start, have a listen for about 15 seconds
to some mystery sounds, and see if
you can guess what groundwater-based resource in the area where the James
begins has been a settlement and tourist attraction for centuries.
SOUND - ~17 sec
If you guessed hot or warm springs,
you’re right! You heard sounds from Magnesia Spring and Boiler Spring at
the historic Homestead Resort in the Bath County town of Hot Springs. As
the names Hot Springs and Boiler Spring indicate, the area is particularly
known for thermal springs, where groundwater emerges on the land surface
at warm or hot temperatures. Springs—both thermal ones and cool-water
ones—are a focal point of the past and present of Virginia’s western
highlands or Alleghany Highlands, names used for all or parts of the
four county area of Alleghany, Bath, Craig, and Highland counties. The
Homestead, for example, began in 1766 around thermal springs that attracted
visitors seeking to bathe in warm, mineral-rich water for its perceived healing
effects. Bath County seat Warm Springs and other communities similarly
developed around this groundwater-generated resource.
On the land’s surface, spring outfalls and streams in Highland County give rise
to the Cowpasture River and the Jackson River. Those two rivers meet to
form the James in Botetourt County, just across Alleghany County’s southern
border.
Virginia has other highlands, other areas of springs, and other river-headwaters
areas. But none exceed the Western
Highlands and the James River headwaters area—from Natural Well in Alleghany
County, to Hot Springs and Warm Springs in Bath County, to the community of
Head Waters in Highland County—for being influenced by and identified with
their water—above and below the surface.
Thanks to Sweet Chalybeate for permission to use this week’s music, and we
close with about 30 more seconds of “See What I Have Done.”
MUSIC - ~29 sec – instrumental
SHIP’S BELL
Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water
Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources
and Environment. For more Virginia water
sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call
the Water Center at (540) 231-5624. Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of
“Shenandoah” to open and close the show.
In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 379, 7-31-17.
Sounds from Magnesia Spring and Boiling Spring at the
Homestead Hotel and Resort in Hot Springs were recorded by Virginia Water Radio
on July 22, 2017.
“See What I Have Done” is copyright by Sweet Chalybeate, used with
permission. More information on Sweet Chalybeate is available online at http://www.sweetchalybeate.com/.
Thanks to Michael Martz for the James River recording, made in Richmond on
February 17, 2014.
Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.
IMAGES
 |
| The Homestead Hotel in Hot Springs, Virginia, July 22, 2017. |
 |
| Magnesia Spring information marker at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., July 22, 2017. |
 |
| Boiler Spring information marker at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., July 22, 2017. |
 |
| Sign at the Jefferson Pools in Warm Springs, Va., July 22, 2017. |
 |
| View to the east from Warm Springs Mountain overlook on U.S. Route 39 in Bath County, Va., July 22, 2017. |
 | |
| Confluence of the
Cowpasture River (right background) and Jackson River (left background)
to form the James River in Botetourt County, Va., July 19, 2009. |
 |
| Road sign for the community of Sweet Chalybeate in Alleghany County, Va., October 28, 2018. |
SOURCES
Used in Audio
Alleghany Highlands Blueway, online at http://www.alleghanyhighlandsblueway.com/main/index.php.
Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, online
at http://www.ahchamber.com/main/index.php.
Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation, “Facts & Figures,” online at http://www.ahedc.com/facts-figures/.
Stan Cohen, The
Homestead and Warm Springs Valley, Virginia: A Pictorial Heritage,
Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Charleston, W. Va., 1984.
DeLorme Company of Yarmouth, Maine, Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer, 2000.
Merriam-Webster, “Chalybeate,” online at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chalybeate.
Oren F. Morton, Annals
of Bath County, Virginia, C.J. Carrier Company, Harrisonburg, Va., 1978.
J.A. Poff, A Homeowner’s Guide to the Development, Maintenance, and Protection of Springs as a Drinking Water Source, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Blacksburg, 1999, online at https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/55268.
University of Virginia/Historical
Collections at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, “Red Sweet Springs
(Sweet Chalybeate Springs), Alleghany County, Virginia,” online at http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/springs/redsweet/.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Groundwater Characterization/Springs Database,” online at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterSupplyWaterQuantity/GroundwaterCharacterization/SpringDatabase.aspx. (This source, used for the previous episode version in July 2017, was no longer readily available as of May 2021.)
Virginia Mountains, online at http://www.visitvamountains.com/.
Virginia Places, “Thermal Springs in Virginia,” online at http://www.virginiaplaces.org/watersheds/hotsprings.html.
Virginia Tourism Corporation, “The Omni Homestead Resort,” online at https://www.virginia.org/listings/placestostay/theomnihomesteadresort/.
Virginia’s Western Highlands Travel Council, online at http://vawesternhighlands.com/.
For More Information about Western Virginia or Groundwater
Michael Abraham, The Spine of the Virginias: Journeys Along the Border
Between Virginia and West Virginia, Pocahontas Press, Blacksburg, Va.,
2010.
Marshall Fishwick, Springlore in Virginia, Bowling
Green State University Popular Press, Bowling Green, Ky., 1978.
Philip LaMoreaux and Judy Tanner, eds.,
Springs and Bottled Waters of the
World: Ancient History, Source,
Occurrence, Quality, and Use, Springer-Verlag, Berlin and Heidelberg
Germany, 2001; information available online at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321613235_Springs_and_Bottled_Waters_of_the_World_Ancient_History_Source_Occurence_Quality_and_Use
(subscription may be required).
National Speleological Society, online at http://www.caves.org/.
J.A. Poff, A Guide to Virginia’s Groundwater, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Blacksburg, Va., 1997; online at https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/55247.
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) “Ground
Water and Drinking Water,” online at https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water.
George Veni et al., “Living with Karst,” American Geological Institute Environmental Awareness Series, 2001; available online at http://www.agiweb.org/environment/publications/karst.pdf.
Virginia Places, “Caves and Springs in Virginia,” online at http://www.virginiaplaces.org/cave/.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Virginia Natural Heritage Karst Program,” online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/karsthome; see particularly “Introduction to Virginia’s Karst,” online (as a PDF) at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/introvakarst.pdf.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Commonwealth
of Virginia State Water Resources Plan,” April 2015, available online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quantity/water-supply-planning/virginia-water-resources-plan.
Virginia Museum of History and Culture, “The Regions of Virginia,” online at https://virginiahistory.org/learn/regions-virginia.
RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODESAll Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).
Following are links to other groundwater-related episodes. Note that some of these episodes are being re-done in May-June 2021, following posting of this episode. If that has occurred at the time you are viewing this post, the links below will redirect you to the updated episodes.
Caves, caverns, and
other karst features – Episode 527, 6-1-20 (featuring Luray Caverns’ Great Stalacpipe
Organ).
Eastern Virginia groundwater and the SWIFT project – Episode 534, 7-20-20.
Groundwater introduction – Episode 575, 5-3-21.
Information sources on Virginia’s water resources generally, including
groundwater – Episode 546, 10-12-20.
Springs – Episode
576, 5-10-21.
Testing water from
wells and other household sources – Episode 361, 3-27-17.
Well construction – Episode 219, 6-23-14.
Winter precipitation
and water supplies, including the role of groundwater replenishment – Episode 567, 3-8-21.
Following are links to some other episodes related to the James River.
Abraham Lincoln and the James – Episode 459, 2-11-19.
Cowpasture and Bullpasture rivers introduction – Episode 469, 4-22-19.
Falls of the James at Richmond and the city’s connections to
the river – Episode
87, 11-7-11.
Great Road/Colonial Parkway on the Virginia Peninsula between the James and
York rivers – Episode
273, 7-6-15.
Jackson River introduction – Episode 428, 7-9-19.
James River Batteau Festival – Episode 373, 6-19-17.
Nonesuch and the settlement of Richmond on the James – Episode 458, 2-4-19.
Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post.
2020 Music SOLs
SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”
2018 Science SOLs
Grades K-5: Earth and
Space Systems
3.7 – There is a water cycle and water is important to life
on Earth.
Grades K-5: Earth
Resources
K.11 – Humans use resources.
3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
4.8 – Virginia has important natural resources.
Grade 6
6.4 – There are basic sources of energy and that energy can
be transformed.
6.6 – Water has unique physical properties and has a role in
the natural and human-made environment.
6.8 – Land and water have roles in watershed systems.
6.9 – Humans impact the environment and individuals can
influence public policy decisions related to energy and the environment.
Life Science
LS.5 – Biotic and abiotic factors affect an ecosystem.
LS.9 – Relationships
exist between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.
Earth Science
ES.8 – Freshwater resources influence and are influenced by
geologic processes and human activity.
2015 Social Studies SOLs
Grades K-3 History
Theme
1.2 – Virginia history and life in present-day Virginia.
Grades K-3 Geography
Theme
1.6 – Virginia climate, seasons, and landforms.
Grades K-3 Economics
Theme
2.8 – natural, human, and capital resources.
3.8 – understanding of cultures and of how natural, human,
and capital resources are used for goods and services.
Virginia Studies
Course
VS.1 – impact of geographic features on people, places, and
events in Virginia history.
VS.2 – physical geography and native peoples of Virginia
past and present.
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in
present-day Virginia.
United States History
to 1865 Course
USI.2 – major land and water features of North America,
including their importance in history.
USI.5 – factors that shaped colonial America and conditions
in the colonies, including how people interacted with the environment to
produce goods and service.
World Geography Course
WG.2 – how selected physical and ecological processes shape
the Earth’s surface, including climate, weather, and how humans influence their
environment and are influenced by it.
WG.3 – how regional landscapes reflect the physical
environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.
WG.4 – types and significance of natural, human, and capital
resources.
Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.
Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade
levels.
Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd
grade.
Episode
255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for
kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for
kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved
oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten
through 3rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th
through 8th grade.
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high
school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school
and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for
elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water,
for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about
Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
