Greer Spring, Missouri
September 25, 2012
Photographer: Tommy R. Hornbeck
Summary Author: Tommy R. Hornbeck
Greer Spring is the second largest natural spring in the state of Missouri, second only to aptly named Big Spring, but Greer is actually two springs. The top photo shows the spring’s upper outlet exiting a small cave then joining the lower outlet (bottom photo) boiling up about 650 ft (198 m) downstream. Their combined flow averages approximately 222 million gallons (840 million liters) a day at 344 cu ft (10 cu m) per second. The stream formed by Greer Spring drops 62 ft (19 m) in about 1.25 mi (2 km), joining the Eleven Points River and doubling its flow. There are no roads to Greer Spring, but a footpath from the trailhead on Highway 19 is less than a mile (1.5 km) away. The trail by itself is worth the trip. It meanders through a mixture of hardwoods and pines down into a steep, shaded ravine carved out by the spring. This area of south-central Missouri contains many caves, springs, sinkholes and losing streams, created as ground water dissolves soluble rock such as limestone or dolomite. Photo taken on October 12, 2010.
Photo details: Camera Model: Top - NIKON D80; Focal Length: 22.0mm; Aperture: f/20; Exposure Time: 1.0 s; ISO equiv: 100; Exposure Bias: none; Exposure Mode: Manual; Light Source: Cloudy; Orientation: Normal; Color Spa; ce: sRGB; Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0 Windows. Bottom - Same except Aperture: f/3.5; Exposure Time: 0.125 s (1/8); Exposure Bias: none.