The Mineral Springs EarthCache

THE MINERAL SPRINGS

The healing springs were discovered in the early 1840's by Samuel Williams. The spring was believed to have medical properties, this brought travelers from afar to the mineral springs for a drink. Today, the springs are still in use in at the Mineral Spring Park in Williamston, SC ran by the town's parks and recreation department. The park's hours are from sunrise to sunset.

Water issuing from an artesian spring rises to a higher elevation than the top of the confined aquifer from which it issues. When water issues from the ground it may form into a pool or flow downhill, in surface streams. Sometimes a spring is termed a seep. Minerals become dissolved in the water as it moves through the underground rocks. This may give the water flavor and even carbon dioxide bubbles, depending upon the nature of the geology through which it passes.

Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the water. Mineral water can often be effervescent. Mineral water can be prepared or can occur naturally.

Springs may be formed in any sort of rock. Small ones are found in many places. In Missouri, the largest springs are formed in limestone and dolomite in the karst topography of the Ozarks.

Both dolomite and limestone fracture relatively easily. When weak carbonic acid (formed by rainwater percolating through organic matter in the soil) enters these fractures it dissolves bedrock. When it reaches a horizontal crack or a layer of non-dissolving rock such as sandstone or shale, it begins to cut sideways, forming an underground stream. As the process continues, the water hollows out more rock, eventually admitting an airspace, at which point the spring stream can be considered a cave. This process is supposed to take tens to hundreds of thousands of years to complete.

A water analysis of the Mineral Spring in Williamston performed by the town has shown that each pint of water contained 13z grains of Carbonate of Iron, held in solution in an excess of Carbonic Acid;3-grains of Sulphate of Magnesia; a trace of Iodine, and a trace of Sulphur.These findings suggest that this spring runs trough limestone. All of these minerals combined give the spring its unique taste.

Springs are often classified by the volume of the water they discharge. The largest springs are called "first-magnitude".Tell me what you think the magnitude of this spring would be according to the scale along with a photo of you with a GPSr at the spring location.

Spring flow scale

0 Magnitude ? no flow (sites of past/historic flow)
1st Magnitude - > 100 cubic feet per second (cfs)
2nd Magnitude ? 10 -100 cfs
3rd Magnitude ? 1 ? 10 cfs
4th Magnitude - 100 gal/min (gallons per minute) - 1 cfs (448 gal/min)
5th Magnitude - 10 to 100 gal/min
6th Magnitude - 1 to 10 gal/min
7th Magnitude - 1 pint to 1 gal/min
8th Magnitude - Less than 1 pint/min