The karst topography of the Missouri Ozarks gives rise to one of the most beautiful natural resources on this planet - natural springs. Some of the springs in Missouri are among the largest on earth (from the standpoint of daily water flows). Many of these springs possess a distinct blue color due to the limestone through which the water percolates. Many have turbulent tributaries which flow into nearby rivers.

Alley Spring at the base of a bluff is adorned with a picturesque old red grist mill. Blue Spring is the deepest at 300 feet (deep enough to submerge the Statue of Liberty). The remote setting of Greer Spring in the Irish Wilderness is possessed of a natural beauty as it flows wildly into the Eleven Point River. Welch Spring issues at the base of a bluff where the ruins of an old hospital stand in an attempt to capitalize on its reported restorative powers.

Yes the natural springs of Missouri are a testimony to the marvelous hydraulic principles that are working within our unique planet.