Harrison Spring

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Harrison Spring 38°14'40" N 86°13'29" W

Harrison Spring is the name of 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.

[edit] The Spring

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 by 80 feet, about 800 Sq Ft of surface area, and contains 86 millions gallons 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. It produces at least 3 million gallons 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 gallons of water a day.^[5] The water from the spring overflows into a an outlet that travels about half a mile before merging with Blue River as a tributary.

The spring is similar to many other spring 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 distance, in as little as four hours.^[6] The spring is also linked with the Wyandotte Caves, the largest cave system in the state, whose main entrance is about five miles west of the spring.

[edit] History

The spring is part of a property that is now owned by Robert Rosenbarger, but it was once part of a large 600-acre 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.^[7]^[8] 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 legislature made this impossible.

The spring is a registered National Natural Landmark, but it is not open to the public.