The correct source of the Big Spring in Bellefonte is not known to many residents in the Spring Creek Watershed. 

    Whether you would call the Big Spring a landmark, the icon of the watershed, truly irreplaceable, or all of the foregoing, it is also one of the least understood natural features in the Spring Creek Watershed.  Its flow of over 19 million gallons per day ranks it as the second largest spring in Pennsylvania.

    So here is a multiple choice quiz question for you:

Where is the source of the ground water flowing from the Big Spring?

Read each choice carefully, and then click on your selection to find out if you were correct.

1. Lake Erie - this is a popular and historic belief held by many Bellefontians.  This lake is certainly an inexhaustible source of water.  Do you think they are correct?
2. Penn's Cave - after all, it's a lot closer than Lake Erie, and it certainly has a lot of ground water in it.
3. Scotia Barrens - the sandy soil could let a lot of rain soak in, but 12 million gallons a day is a lot of soaking.
4. Nittany Mountain - the closest to Big Spring and at least 1,000 feet higher in elevation.  Maybe the forest captures the recharge, and it seeps down and down.

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Last modified: July 21, 2008.