Blount Springs EarthCache
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This Earthcache takes you to the Springs of Blount County. Minimal walking down a slight slope is required.
Blount Springs, one of Alabama’s fashionable springs of yesteryear lies about twenty five miles north of Birmingham in Blount County. The site of the once famous Spa and Health Resort contains several natural sulphur, lithium, and arsenic springs.
By the end of 1825, many socialites from Huntsville and Birmingham had discovered the area, and it flourished until 1828 when J.H. Harris and J. Perrine purchased the Blount Springs property. They built several cottages, cleaned the springs, and advertised their establishment as “the most comfortable and pleasant resort to all those who may visit it in the pursuit of either health or amusement.” The white, red, sweet sulphur, freestone, limestone, and chalybeate waters within the vicinity became an instant attraction.
A spring is a point of natural, concentrated groundwater discharge from soil or rock. Some springs are located in river or lake beds (subaqueous springs) or below mean sea level along the coast (submarine springs), but many are found some distance from surface water bodies.
Types
Springs with water temperatures near the local mean-annual air temperature are commonly called cold springs. Springs with higher temperatures are known as thermal springs: warm springs have temperatures up to 37°C; hot springs between 37°C and the boiling temperature of water at the spring location (often well below 100°C at higher elevations in mountainous areas); boiling springs have a temperature equal to the boiling temperature. Intermittent hot springs that eject columns of hot water and steam into the air at more or less regular intervals are called geysers (after Stora Geysir, Iceland).
All spring water contains some dissolved salts, derived from slow dissolution of minerals from the rocks which the water contacts during its movement to the spring. Freshwater springs discharge water with dissolved mineral content of under 1 g/L. Mineral springs have dissolved mineral contents of 1-35 g/L (the approximate salt concentration in seawater). Brine springs have concentrations ranging to over 300 g/L.
The minerals dissolved in spring waters include mainly carbonates, sulphates, chlorides and sulphides (of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and iron). Spring waters contain small amounts of various gases, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen and methane, and minute quantities of helium, radon, neon, argon, krypton and xenon.
The waters of Blount Springs were bottled and sold for years. Although the site of the resort is mostly a ghost town, a careful eye can see remnants of its previous glory.
The coordinates above will take you to a historic marker commemorating the heyday of Blount Springs. The springs themselves are located a very short drive from the marker. Parking for the springs can be found at: 33 55.809N 86 47.617W. After parking, walk down the hill along the path and you will see the springs in front of you.
To log this earthcache, please:
1.Post a photograph of yourself and your GPSr with the Historic Marker in the background.
2.In a private email, please describe the odor and color of any of the springs. What do you suppose causes the odor?
The site of the springs receives much abuse in the way of litter, so I encourage you to bring a garbage bag and pack some out.
Additional Hints
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