This is a companion diary to the one posted on November 17, The Daily Bucket - Big Spring in the Missouri Ozarks - Summer. In late October, I revisited the spring at a time when its beauty was accented by fall foliage.
First, let’s try some videos. Until now, I had never loaded a video to YouTube. Here are two brief views of Big Spring.
Let’s delve into the geology of the Ozarks again. This article from the University of Arkansas is informative.
Bluff Shelters of the Arkansas Ozarks
The Ozark region, which occupies primarily northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, is different than most mountain ranges in the United States. Generally mountains are formed by what geologists call folding and faulting. That is, rock strata or layers are bent, folded, and changed by the action of large sections of the Earth’s crust pushing against each other. This creates wrinkles and bumps in the strata and lifts the entire region. The Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas are an example of that. You can see evidence of it in the way the rocks look folded and bent.
The Ozarks were formed in a different way. They are the result not primarily of folding and faulting but of erosion. The rocks that formed the Ozarks were originally sand, silt, and the remains of marine animals laid down in a shallow sea at the beginning of the Paleozoic Era, which began 542 million years ago. These deposits of sediment were put down in layers as the environment and sea level changed over time. Thus layers of sand were deposited on top of layers of finer grained silt, and in some places the remains of calcium-rich corals and the shells of sea creatures created layers on the sea bed. As time progressed this layer cake of sediment became rock. The sand layers became sandstone, the silt layers became shale and siltstone, and the shells and coral became limestone.
For additional information about the area, see the Wikipedia entry for the Ozarks.
An interpretive sign near the spring shows a diagram of the karst topography of the area.
The final paragraph on the sign is worth quoting here.
Big Spring’s 286 million gallons of water carry 173 tons of dissolved dolomite bedrock away daily. Over the course of a year, this would equate to a new single passage nearly 11 feet wide, 12 feet high and spanning 1 mile in length.
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THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
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With no further ado, let’s look at some more pictures.
Of course I have to include some forestry in the diary! Seeds of black walnut (Juglans nigra), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) and honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos). Enlarge.
A careless encounter with a honeylocust tree can ruin your day!
Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos). No need to enlarge, you get the “point.”
This series of pics will make a clockwise loop, beginning at the picnic area, crossing the bridge, and following the scenic trail along the spring branch. The diary’s lead picture is next in the sequence.
Stone steps leading to trail. The trails date to the CCC days of the 1930s, and have changed little since my childhood. Enlarge.
The understory trees with yellow leaves are pawpaws (Asimina triloba). Enlarge.
Dogwood (Cornus florida) in fall colors. Enlarge.
Side trail to a boulder that makes a good observation point. Years ago, tourists would throw coins into the water there. My younger brother and I were quite willing to clean up the litter, but that water is cold! Enlarge.
Steps leading back to main trail. They have gradually gotten more crooked over the years. Enlarge.
The trail gets narrow as it hugs a cliff. Enlarge.
A side spring, downstream from the main spring. Anywhere else, this would be regarded as a nice spring. Here, it is dwarfed by the main attraction, and receives little attention. Enlarge.
I always linger for a few minutes here. Enlarge.
The sun is setting behind the hill, casting a glow on the trees above the spring. Enlarge.
