Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Like an inverted faucet, Big Spring spews water from beneath the earth with tremendous force. Located south of Van Buren, on MO highway 103, the natural wonder was included in one of Missouri's first state parks.

In 1933 the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed trails and bridges in Big Springs State Park, making it one of Missouri's premier sites. The flow of Big Springs has been recorded daily since 1921. The spring's average daily flow is 276 million gallons; the largest flow recorded in one day was 840 million gallon in June 1928. The average daily flow of the spring could fill an inch-diameter pipe reaching from the earth to the moon, then circling the moon ninety times before returning to earth.

Where does it come from?
Rainwater moves into underground systems through sinkholes, percolation through stream beds, and seepage through soil and rocks. Dye traces of the Big Spring system (yellow) indicate water comes from an area up to 40 miles away. The trip from surface to spring may require 17 days. Since the filtration occurs in this sponge like system, water purity is strongly influenced by surface activities.

The state transferred Big Springs, Alley Springs, and Round Springs State Parks to the federal government in the early 1970s for inclusion in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The riverways' boundaries include more than 80,000 acres, 300 caves, and 134 miles of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers. Each year, 1.5 million people visit the national preserve.

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