Some Observations on Springs in Southwest Wisconsin

Abstract

The present study follows two papers [De Geoffroy et al., 1967, 1968] that describe a spring sampling technique used for the geochemical coverage of a large area of southwest Wisconsin to detect zinc ore bodies. During the course of the geochemical survey, it became apparent that valuable hydrologie data could be collected simultaneously for a small additional cost. Little information on springs is available in the literature for Wisconsin and most parts of the United States, with the exception of the southwest portion of the country [Feth, 1953; Feth et al, 1964; Waring, 1915]. It is hoped that the present survey of springs can be a useful addition to the study of ground water in southwest Wisconsin. Samples from 7210 springs were collected within an area of 900 square miles (Figure 1) during four field seasons. The systematic procedure covering the field work has been detailed previously [De Geoffroy et al., 1967].

Native and invasive vegetation of karst springs in Wisconsin’s Driftless area

“…They reported the pH range of these springs were between 6.5 and 8.3 and the discharge range about 1-120 liters per minute (De Geoffroy et al, 1970). The papers that followed focused on human use (Hoffman, 1995;Kemp & Day, 1997/1998 and geomorphology and hydrology (Gaffield, 2000;Day et al, 2004).…”