Unlikely Source Keeps Willamette Valley Fertile In Drought

“We’ve got this big, deep, huge volcanic aquifer,” said Grant. “I can’t find another place on the planet that has the same kind of properties as our place does.”

Given the conditions, which Grant said were equivalent to what we might see if the planet warmed 4 degrees, scientists had predicted the Willamette would hit record low levels.

When that wasn’t the case, hydrologists started thinking about why. 

The most likely candidate was this deep volcanic aquifer.