Harrison Spring is the name of the largest spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 in the state of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. It is located in west-central Harrison County

Harrison County, Indiana

Harrison County is a county located in the far southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Ohio River. It is divided into twelve townships, and the county seat is Corydon, the former capital of Indiana. The county is part of the larger Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan...

, near the Blue River and just north of White Cloud

White Cloud, Indiana

White Cloud is an unincorporated community in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana....

.

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

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

 alluvium

Alluvium

Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...

 cavern (Karst

KARST

Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

) beneath the surface of the ground and flows into a pool measuring 100 feet (30.5 m) by 80 feet (24.4 m), about 800 sq ft (74.3 m²) of surface area, and contains 86 million USgals (325,545.4 m³) of water. It is within an abandoned meander loop, and in the periphery a natural levee. Divers have measured its depth to be between 35 and 40 feet (12.2 m). It produces at least 3 million USgals (11,356.2 m³) of water a day at an average of 18,000 gpm, enough to supply water to an average town of 12,000. On rainy days the spring can produce as much as 30 million USgals (113,562.4 m³) of water a day. 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

Lost River (Indiana)

The Lost River is a river that rises in Vernon Township, Washington County, Indiana, and discharges into the East Fork of the White River in Lost River Township, Martin County, Indiana...

, a large underground river that flows through Indiana roughly parallel to the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

, and may be one of its several outlets. The spring is located at the low point of a subterranean

Subterranea (geography)

Subterranea refers to underground structures, both natural and man-made . Some subterranea include:* Bunker* Casemate* Catacombs* Caves** Ice caves* Cave dwellings, Cave house* Cave temple* Cellar* Cenote* Dungeon...

 gradient

Gradient

In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar field is a vector field that points in the direction of the greatest rate of increase of the scalar field, and whose magnitude is the greatest rate of change....

 that the Indian Creek flows over at a higher point. Dye tests have shown that water can percolate through the karst

KARST

Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

 from Indian Creek to Harrison Spring, a four mile (6 km) distance, in as little as four hours. The spring is also linked with the Wyandotte Caves

Wyandotte Caves

Wyandotte Caves, a pair of limestone caves located on the Ohio River in Harrison-Crawford State Forest in Crawford County, five miles north-east of Leavenworth and 12 miles from Corydon in southern Indiana, is a popular tourist attraction. Wyandotte Caves were designated a National Natural...

, the largest cave system in the state, whose main entrance is about five miles (8 km) west of the spring.

History

The spring is part of a property that is now owned by Robert Rosenbarger, but it was once part of a large 600 acres (2.4 km²) farm owned by United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 President William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...

 from whom it gains its name. The spring produced enough water to run a gristmill

Gristmill

The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

 and sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 downstream which began operating 1807, making it one of the first in the state. The farm was known as Harrison Valley. Harrison had planned to make it a plantation similar to Grouseland

Grouseland

Grouseland, the William Henry Harrison Mansion and Museum, is a National Historic Landmark in architectural and historical fields. Grouseland is a large, two-story red brick home built for William Henry Harrison in Vincennes, Indiana, during his term as Governor of the Indiana Territory...

, and a shipyard. However, the outlawing of slavery by the Indiana Constitution of 1816 made this impossible.

The spring is a registered National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

, but it is not open to the public.