Giant Springs

Giant Springs is an immense natural freshwater spring located on the outskirts of the city of Great Falls, Montana. Discovered by Lewis and Clark during their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, the spring is 'first magnitude' and continuously produces up to 300 million gallons of water a day, with an average of 200 million gallons/day (or 73 billion gallons per year). This output makes Giant Springs the 2nd largest cold fresh water spring in the world, with a temperature of 54^o F. The water originates from snowmelt in the Little Belt Mountains, convert|60|mi|km away, and according to radioisotope dating takes almost 2,900 years to travel underground before returning to the surface at the springs. The conduit between the mountain and the spring is the geoglogical strata found in parts of the Northwest called Madison Limestone. Each day, some of this freshwater is bottled for human consumption.

Today, the Giant Springs State Park includes a trout hatchery, and is the site of convert|200|ft|m|sing=on-long Roe River --the shortest river in the world according to Guinness Book of World Records. The river flows into the Missouri River which is near the spring and borders its state park. Besides the location of a world record holder, Giant Springs is also the most-visited state park in Montana.

Montana is also home to Warm Springs, the 1st largest freshwater spring in the world, and Big Springs (south of Lewistown, Montana), which is the 3rd largest freshwater spring on earth. Big Springs is also home to the state's largest cold water trout hatchery.

External links

* [http://fwp.mt.gov/lands/site_282690.aspx State of Montana]