I can remember once reading somewhere that the United States has a great underground river, somewhere in the middle of the country miles deep, thats even longer and wider than the Mighty Amazon of South America. Has anyone else ever heard anything about this, and if so, could you please cite?
I believe the answer to your op is Yes. But it is really no big deal…There are aquifer’s all over the globe, some are connected by large underground river systems…But they are certainly not nation specific.
I don’t know about this giant river of which you speak, but underground rivers, streams, pools & lakes are common features of caves & caverns throughout the world.
In Tennessee, visit Ruby Falls or The Lost Sea.
Both good firsthand experiences.
Civil engineer here…
The vast majority of the fresh water in the world is underground, and is referred to as “groundwater.” You should not think of this water as an underground river or lake, however. While these exist, they are relatively uncommon when compared to a typical aquifer. A typical aquifer simply consists of soil with water in the spaces between the grains of soil. Picture a bucket of sand/silt with water poured in it. Groundwater does flow through the soil pores, but generally very slowly.
One of the pages in Phlosphr’s link gives more information:
http://capp.water.usgs.gov/GIP/gw_gip/how_a.html
BTW, the groundwater level is known as the “water table.” When the elevation of the water table extends above the ground surface, you get a surface water body, such as a lake, pond, or stream.
Also, shouldn’t this be in GQ?
Lost rivers (buried when city planners thought it would be easier to pave them over than to redirect or stop them) are indeed very common. Look at all the ones we’ve got in Toronto alone.
Try googling “Lost Rivers” + your location, they exist everywhere there is a large amount of pavement.