Big Spring (Missouri)

Big Spring
Big Spring in Missouri is the largest spring in the Ozarks. Pictured here at 240 cu ft/s (6.8 m3/s) experiencing low flow after an extended dry period.
Map
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMissouri
RegionOzark Plateau
Physical characteristics
SourceEleven Point River watershed
 • locationSalem Plateau, Ozark Plateau, Missouri
 • coordinates[1]
MouthCurrent River (Missouri)
 • location
near Van Buren, Carter County, Ozark Plateau, Missouri
 • coordinates
36°57′08″N 90°59′39″W / 36.95222°N 90.99417°W / 36.95222; -90.99417[2]
 • elevation
429 ft (131 m)[3]
Length0.2 mi (0.32 km)
Discharge 
 • locationBig Spring (Missouri)[1]
 • average470 cu ft/s (13 m3/s)[1]
 • minimum236 cu ft/s (6.7 m3/s)
 • maximum2,000 cu ft/s (57 m3/s)

Big Spring is one of the largest springs in the United States and the world.[2] An enormous first magnitude spring, it rises at the base of a bluff on the west side of the Current River valley in the Missouri Ozarks.

  1. ^ a b USGS Surface Water data for US – Big Spring 1981-2009
  2. ^ Vineyard and Federer, 1982, p. 12