Harrison Spring
| Harrison Spring | |
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 Harrison Spring |
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| Location | Harrison County, Indiana |
| Nearest city | White Cloud |
| Coordinates | 38°14′39″N 86°13′30″W / 38.2443°N 86.2251°WCoordinates: 38°14′39″N 86°13′30″W / 38.2443°N 86.2251°W |
| Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
| Designated | 1980 |
Harrison Spring is the largest spring in the state of Indiana. It is located in west-central Harrison County, near the Blue River and just north of White Cloud.
The Spring [edit]
A portion of the water that feeds the spring originates from Indian Creek, and then goes underground until it reaches the spring area. The spring percolates through a layer of Pleistocene alluvium cavern (Karst) beneath the surface of the ground and flows into a pool measuring 100 feet (30 m) by 80 feet (24 m), about 800 sq ft (74 m2) of surface area, and contains 86 million US gallons (330,000 m3) of water.[1] It is within an abandoned meander loop, and in the periphery a natural levee.[2] Divers have measured its depth to be between 35 and 40 feet (12 m). It produces at least 3 million US gallons (11,000 m3) of water a day at an average of 18,000 gpm,[3] enough to supply water to an average town of 12,000.[4] On rainy days the spring can produce as much as 30 million US gallons (110,000 m3) of water a day.[5] The water from the spring overflows into an outlet that travels about half a mile before merging with Blue River as a tributary.
The spring is similar to many other springs around the Lost River, a large underground river that flows through Indiana roughly parallel to the Ohio River, and may be one of its several outlets. The spring is located at the low point of a subterranean gradient that the Indian Creek flows over at a higher point. Dye tests have shown that water can percolate through the karst from Indian Creek to Harrison Spring, a four mile (6 km) distance, in as little as four hours.[3] The spring is also linked with the Wyandotte Caves, the largest cave system in the state, whose main entrance is about five miles (8 km) west of the spring.
History [edit]
The spring is owned by the Harrison Spring Conservation Club, but it was once part of a large 600-acre (2.4 km2) farm owned by United States President William Henry Harrison from whom it gains its name. The spring produced enough water to run a gristmill and sawmill downstream which began operating 1807, making it one of the first in the state.[6][1] The farm was known as Harrison Valley. Harrison had planned to make it a plantation similar to Grouseland, and a shipyard. However, the outlawing of slavery by the Indiana Constitution of 1816 made this impossible.
The spring was registered as a National Natural Landmark in 1980, but is not open to the public.
References [edit]
- ^ a b Amazing Tales from Indiana By Fred D. Cavinder, 1990, Pg 6
- ^ NPS: Nature & Science » National Natural Landmarks
- ^ a b Hydrogeology of Harrison County, Pg 15
- ^ Amazing Tales from Indiana By Fred D. Cavinder, 1990, Pg 5
- ^ Harrison Spring bubbling with history of our ninth president Louisville Courier Journal April 2, 1978
- ^ Water Resources If Indiana and Ohio, by Frank Leverett, 1897, Pg 483
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