Big Spring,Carter County, Missouri

Big Spring is one the most powerful springs in the United States. It is a huge first magnitude spring and rises at a bluff located on the west side the Current River valley in Missouri Ozarks. It is located just a few miles from Van Buren. It lies within the Ozark National Scanic Riverways system's boundaries, and the National Park Service manages its visitor facilities.
Big Spring is the second largest tributary in the Current River with an average flow of 470 cubic yards (13,000 L) of water per minute [3]. It is the largest spring on theOzark Plateau. Greer Spring is the largest spring in the Ozark region, while Mammoth Spring is the smallest. Due to backwater from The Current River, accurate high-water measurements are impossible for Big Spring. The spring is located at the base of a limestone hill. It creates aqua-blue water quickly, and then calms to a clean channel. The spring water is about 1,000 feet (300m) long and then adds to the Current River. The water temperature is around 58 degrees Fahrenheit (13.3degC) and the spring is surrounded with a well-kept park and steep valley slopes covered in hardwood forest. The Eleven Point River watershed's northern regions are covered by the majority of the known drainage basin. The size of Big Spring is steadily increasing as groundwater continues dissolved limestone in a huge karst system. There is also continued stream capture in greater amounts. It is estimated that the spring will dissolve and remove 175 tons limestone every day. The amount of limestone that is dispersed by the spring system over a year is equal to a mile (1.6 km) long cave.