Footage of Hiker's Unexpected Discovery in the Woods Goes Viral: 'How?'

A video showing a mysterious, bubbling puddle in the dirt on a remote mountain hiking trail has gone viral on Reddit, with thousands of users chiming in to figure out what the unusual sight could be.

The short clip, posted by u/presentdifference21 in the r/whatisit subreddit, is titled: "Found this in the woods way up a mountain … How? What?" The post has racked up over 33,000 upvotes since it was shared on May 9.

The footage shows a seemingly unremarkable patch of dirt in the middle of the woods, save for a small pool of water gurgling up from below, creating a continuous bubbling effect on the surface.

Kevin J. McGuire, a professor at Virginia Tech who is the director of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, helped clarify the phenomenon. He told Newsweek that what the Reddit video likely shows is a "groundwater seep"—a location where underground water naturally emerges at the land surface.

"These features are relatively common and often become more visible during or shortly after significant storm events," McGuire said. "The source of the seepage can vary—it may originate from deeper groundwater returning to the surface or from shallow soil water that is redirected upward due to variations in soil properties, underlying geology, or topography."

In some cases, McGuire said, pressure in the groundwater system can create what are known as artesian conditions. "When groundwater is under pressure, it can create artesian conditions, causing water to be pushed upward to the surface. Such seeps can serve as the origin points for small streams or contribute to the formation of groundwater-fed wetlands known as fens," he added.

Over 61 million people in the United States were reported to have engaged in hiking activities at least once in 2023—the highest number recorded since tracking began in 2010, according to Statista, the global data firm. That figure marks an 89 percent increase over the participation rate from 13 years earlier.

'Very Cool'

Reddit users offered a mix of their best guesses and amazed reactions to the mystery water in the viral clip.

User u/AsleepRegular7655 commented simply: "Just a spring. They are very cool."

User u/Mindless_Can_5259 wrote, calling it an "underwater/underground spring."

Another, u/Ash_Cat_13, posted: "Probably an ephemeral spring, they literally spring from the 'sides' of mountains and hills as the water table shifts and expands."

"A spring or seep where groundwater is coming up so beautiful," noted Dalearev.

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.

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