A massive aquifer is stored just beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades – possibly the largest aquifer of its kind in the world, according to researchers at the University of Oregon.

Oregon's Cascade Range mountains might not hold gold, but they store another precious resource in abundance: water. Scientists from the University of Oregon and their partners have mapped the amount of water stored beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades and found an aquifer many times larger than previously estimated—at least 81 cubic kilometers.

The previously unmapped aquifer is estimated to be more than three times the size of the Lake Mead reservoir in Nevada.

Researchers discovered a massive water reservoir beneath the Cascade Mountain Range, estimated to be three times the size of Lake Mead.

Oregon’s Cascade Range is not just a scenic landscape of volcanic peaks - it also hides a massive underground aquifer filled with water.